Avenging Wizard
by Marvelgeek42
Summary: Fury wakes the Avengers and some more people at 5AM. For what? Reading books. About whom? Lord Harry James Potter-Black, but call him Harry. Is going to be edited so that it no longer contains the quotes from the books (but still information what exactly the characters are replying to) before I update. 2/13 Chapters edited.
1. The New Guy

**Hello!**

**I saw that none of this, meaning a Crossover Reading the Books story in these categories, exists yet, or that I couldn't find one, so I thought, I'd make one. Unfortunaly, it either no longer contains the text from the book or is on the way there, due to the fact that I'd like to avoid to get sued. However it still contains information what exactly the Characters refer to, like me rewriting or mocking the book in some parts, while others are a summary. A version with book text is being posted on tumblr, the link is on my profile. Provided I get it to work. Otherwise PM me.**

**This ignores all Phase Two movies as of now (they will happen during breaks between books) and kinda the Epilouge of Deathly Hallows: I added a twin of Lily, called Colin Regulus, and Harry doesn't age, 'cause he is the Master of Death even if he never tried to. The day after the Battle of Hogwarts, when he woke up, the wand and the stone were next to him. I might write this as a) a one short or b) a story told by Harry during a break. Oh, and Loki turns good during the reading. This is set somewhere in 2014.**

**The parings in this story are Pepperony, Bretty, Thane, Clintasha, Darcy/Loki, Coulson/cellist, Charlie/Lee, Katie/Oliver, Alicia/Dudley and basically all HP cannon ones. However, as this will not be very romantic (except for Jily, Pepperony and maybe Clintasha), I hope nobody stops reading because of a pairing.**

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><p>The Avengers were in the assembling room on the helicarrier, waiting for Fury to come in and to tell them what this meeting was about.<p>

Seeing that it was only 5AM, all of them were grumbling.

Especially Tony, who was already at his sixth coffee for this morning as this was one of the few nights he planned on sleeping.

Thor was snoring loudly, what was probably the only thing that kept Bruce and Steve from doing the same.

Clint and Natasha were awake. Not happy, but awake.

Finally, Tony was now at his eighth coffee, Fury came in.

Honestly, if you call in meetings early as hell, at least be punctual yourself.

He was accompanied by four women and two men. Tony was the only one who recognized all, well most of them.

There was his fiancée Pepper, Bruce's girlfriend Betty, Thor's girlfriend Jane, Steve's girlfriend Jubel,Agent Hill, an unknown man and Agent.

Tony knew directly that he was alive. Why on earth would he take his beloved cards in his suit? Made absolutely no sense at all.

Though he seemed to be the only one who figured this out, seeing all the other Avengers, even Thor who awoke at the opening door, yelled either: "Coulson!" or "Son of Coul!".

Back to the unknown man. He was about 17, average height, black- haired, green-eyed and had a lighting scar on his forehead.

Tony knew, thanks to Howard, a lot about scars, but he never saw a lightning-shaped one.

Nickyboy had enough of the talking, as he shouted: "SILENCE!"

That shut the team up, except Tony who asked: "So, my favorite pirate, would you be so kind to tell us, why you forced us to come here at this damn early hour?"

"To read these books." Fury explained.

"WHAT?!" yelled the rest of the Avengers, as their girlfriends/fiancées, Hill, Coulson and lighting boy all seemed to be knowing this already.

Said teen continued: "Yep. Seven books about my life."

"I don't mean to be rude", Clint interrupted, "but who the hell are you?"

"And why are you here?" added the science bro of the genius.

"Well, I am Lord Harry James Potter-Black. As to why I am here...I did much more than you think. Also I'm not a teen, I'm 32", answered the...not-teen.

How was it possible for a 32-year-old man, to look not a day older than seventeen?

"As I was trying to say", continued Fury annoyed, while Tony was starting his ninth coffee, "Lord Potter-Black -"

"Harry", corrected the Loki look-alike.

"Harry is the newest addition to the team. These books are his life story, as he refused to tell us all directly."

Now Steve spoke for the first time: "What brings you on the team, Harry? What can you do?"

"It is in the books. I dare to say none of you suspect this", commented Harry.

He was unusual? "Seems you fit in already. Why don't we start, so that I can get some sleep?" Tony said, taking the first book.

"This one is titled **Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone**, whatever that is. **Chapter One: The Boy Who Lived**..."

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: If Harry Potter or the Avengers belong to me, Napoleon Bonarparte fonded facebook.<strong>

**Please read and review! Pleeaase! *puppy-dog-eyes***

**~Marvelgeek42**


	2. The Boy Who Lived

**Hello, here I am.**

**Thanks for all the feedback!**

**I brought some people from the past back, so here's from when they are:**

**Marauders, Lily, Regulus, Severus - Two Months before the OWL thing, ****Tonks - her fifth year (1988), ****Fred and Collin - just before the BoH**

**...that should be all.**

**Okay now this it the first Chapter in which I deleted the text (which was more fun than I expected), but I also made some changes concerning the comments too. And most likely will do this in the following Chapters too, so I'd advice you to read all Chapters again some time, unless this story has as of now 15 Chapters or more, but that should not be before June (or even later, depending on how busy I get).**

**My beta, _Luke Amranvor_, looked over this Chapter too, so thank you for that!**

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><p>"<em>This one is titled <em>**_Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone_**_, whatever that is. _**_Chapter One: The Boy Who Lived_**_..."_

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><p>The first thing the group learned when Tony started to read was that the Dursleys were proud of being normal.<p>

"Why would anyone want to be normal?", Darcy asked, "It's dead boring."

The book said something which could be paraphrased as thanks a lot.

"You're very welcome", Clint and Tony chorused. Their girlfriends just rolled their eyes.

Tony continued and we are told that the Dursleys are not people you would suspect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious.

"And that's wrong", Bruce concluded.

"Why do you think that?", Jane wondered.

"Well, Harry is obviously part in something strange or mysterious, otherwise he wouldn't be here. This is a book about him, so they have something to do with him. Seeing they have another last name, I guess maternal aunt and uncle. They have a small son, so they cannot be his maternal grandparents. Am I right, Harry?" explained Bruce.

"Yes. These people are, sadly, my family", Harry confirmed.

Tony reads out that the Dursleys do not like anything out of the ordinary.

"I'm already sorry for you", Tony said.

"Me too", added Clint.

"Me three", Darcy joined in.

The book tells us that Mr. Dursley is the director of Grunnings.

"Grunnings?" asked Pepper, "I know that name. But why?"

We learn that Grunnings produces drills.

"Ah, that's why", answered Pepper herself, "They asked to help at Chicago Stark Tower."

"Decline later", Tony ordered.

"Politely?" Pepper wanted to know.

"Depending who runs it. And if they know Mr. Whale here."

Mr. Dursley is described as a big, beefy man with hardly any neck and a very large mustache.

"I would rather kill myself than see this man regularly", Darcy said, shuddering.

The book tells us the physical (thin, blonde, nearly twice the usual amount of neck) description of Mrs. Dursley, although there is a hint of characterization in form of her habit of spying mentioned too.

"Shame she's married", Steve exclaimed, much to surprise of everyone sans Jubel, who pouted.

"What? I have a sense of humor too! And Jubel, you know I love you."

We learn of the son of the Dursleys who is called Dudley.

Harry began to laugh hysterically.

"What?", Natasha asked. She did not like it when she did not know something.

"The last word you would my cousin at that point of time is small", Harry answered grinning.

We learn that the Dursleys think Dudley is the best boy of all time and that they have a deep dark secret they do not want anyone to discover.

"Uhhhhh, blackmail", Tony said laughing.

Thor looked confused and asked: "What is that 'blackmail' you speak of?"

"It means when you have information about someone this person doesn't want publish and you use that to your advantage", answered Loki out of the corner.

Every Avenger, including Harry, Fury, Hill, Coulson and Jubel jumped and Darcy grabbed her taser.

"Calm down, I do not plan to hurt anyone. I just wanted to introduce myself to Harry and give him a pleasant surprise."

He went to Harry and held out his hand.

"Allow me to introduce myself: I am Loki of Asgard and Jotunheim. God of fire, mischief, chaos, lies and _magic_"

Harry gulped and the rest asked themselves why.

"What is the surprise?" Harry asked in true Gryffindor fashion while shaking hands.

"This", Loki replied, pointhing towards the other side of the room.

There was a big light and suddenly a lot of people stood in the room. Most of them returned in fight position, but Harry looked close to tears.

Bruce saw that first and asked: "You know these people, Harry?"

"Yes. Some of them are dead and I'm related to a lot of -"

"DADDY!" screamed a little redheaded girl who ran towards Harry. She was soon followed by a black haired boy.

"Hey, you two. Do you know why you are here? Or you?", Harry added, looking towards the others.

"No, Daddy", the boy replied.

"Mommy was just getting breakfast for James, Teddy, Al, Collin, and me. I blinked and then I was here", the girl added.

"Okay, you two, please go to your brothers and god-brother while I make sure Mommy isn't worried, okay?" Harry asked and the two of them nodded.

After the toddlers were next to three boys, another black haired one, one with red hair and the last one who had turquoise hair for some obscure reason, Harry continued with: "I'll introduce everyone later, just be quiet for a minute, please."

He walked out of the room and apparated to the American Potter Manor where they currently lived.

"Ginny?", Harry yelled while walking in.

"HARRY! THE KIDS ARE GONE!", Ginny replied loudly while running down the stairs.

"I know, that's why I'm here. I told you of the appointment with S.H.I.E.L.D., didn't I?"

"Yes, but - "

"They have a helicarrier, what is about like a flying fortress. The god of Magic appeared and he brought the kids and some people of the past. Teddy's parents, my parents, Collin, Sirius, Severus, Regulus and Fred."

"WHAT!? Harry James Potter, you better not be lying!", the ex-Quidditch player threatened her husband.

"I'm not, I swear on everything, Gins. I thought maybe you, George and some more would like to join in...?"

"You have to _ask_?! You go back now and I'll inform George and all the others."

"See you later, hun"

"Bye, my savior."

Harry reappeared in the conference room and, surprisingly, everybody listened to him.

"Well, these are Regulus and Sirius Black, Collin Creevey, Fred Weasley, Severus Snape, Lily Evans and James Potter, my parents", every one of the past gasped (Fred was because now he had met all the Marauders and Collin because he knew half of the people to be dead and/or older). Lily would say yes to James sometime?

"Teddy Remus Lupin, my godson, son of Remus Lupin and, I'm sorry, but I have to introduce you, Nymphodora Tonks, but don't use her first name as she hates it, my children -"

_CHILDREN?!_, the people from the past thought,_ He looked seventeen, the oldest looked nine!_

"James Sirius, Albus Severus, Lily Luna and Collin Regulus Potter."

The past gasped again. A Potter named Severus? Or Regulus? Who was Luna? And -

"Remus, you know Luna is Latin for moon", James I said.

"And Spanish", Bruce added.

All those who had someone named after them said: "Thanks", though most wizards and witches were horribly confused.

"Well, yeah. These are Thor Odinson, Nick Fury, Phil -"

"Agent", interrupted Tony. The pranksters (James, Sirius, James Sirius, Remus, Loki, Clint, Darcy, Fred and Collin Regulus) laughed. Most of the others grinned.

"Whatever, Phil Coulson, Tony Stark, Maria Hill, Steve Rogers"

Lily I gasped. She grew up as muggle in the sixties, _of course_ she knew who Captain America was.

"Betty Ross, Jubel Lee, Loki of Asgard, Pepper Potts, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Bruce Banner, Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis, and I am Harry James Potter. We're reading books about my life. The chapter at this moment is on November first, 1981. I invited more people, they'll probably arrive in two chapters or so", the last part was spoken directly to Fury.

The first thing we learn after Tony started reading again is that the fear the Dursleys had mentioned before was anyone finding out about their relation to the Potters.

"Who are we reading about? We Potters are awesome!", exclaimed James I.

"These people are your sister-in-law and her husband", Clint replied cause James I to grimace.

The book informs us that Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Dursley are sisters.

"See?"

"Nobody disagred with you, Clint", Natasha groaned.

We learn that Mrs. Dursley pretended her sister did not exist and that they had not met for several years.

"Gee, I love you too, Tunia."

Tony reads out that Mrs. Dursley thinks Mr. Potter (James) is good-for-nothing.

"JAMES / GRANDPA / MR. POTTER IS NOT GOOD-FOR-NOTHING!", exclaimed everybody who was part of the wizarding world, except James I, Severus, Regulus and Lily. Although Regulus and Lily were not exactly sure, anymore. After all, for Lily to marry him, and have a child with him, he had to have some good sides they had not yet seen. Oh, and Harry also did not say anything as he was used to such comments from his uncle.

Apparently the Potters are as 'unDursleyish' as possible, according to the book.

"Since when is 'unDursleyish' a word?", Tony wondered, interrupting himself.

"Oh, excuse them for not being ugly and boring. I didn't know that was a crime", Clint said before anyone could answer Tony's question. The pranksters, and more or less everybody else, laughed.

We get to know that the Dursleys do not want their neighbors to see the Potters walking down Privet Drive.

"DAD, can we walk down their street?", James II begged.

"Maybe"

Tony reads out that the Dursleys know that the Potters also have a young son, but that neither of them had seen each other.

"Those were the only good times before I was eleven."

_What in the name of Merlin's left shoe happened?_, wondered everyone who did not know.

Okay, the Loki and the not magical people did not mention Merlin in their thoughts, but still.

The book tells us that the Dursleys think that Harry would be a bad influence on Dudley and thus have another reason not to contact the Potters.

"And now, thirty-three years later he still has contact with Dad. What. A. Rebel.", Collin concluded.

"What is a rebel?", his twin sister asked.

"Someone like James and Uncle Dudley", the youngest Potter explained.

We learn that it was a boring completely normal Tuesday in the book and that Mr. Dursley prefers boring ties.

"This man has issues. Most _boring _tie?", Sirius exclaimed.

Dudley was throwing a temper tantrum, Mrs. Dursley informed anyone listening (or not) of the newest gossip and a large, tawny owl flew by unnoticed.

"Are they blind?", Clint questioned.

"Baby Dudley was screaming. That needs all attention possible", Harry answered.

Mr. Dursley left for work and Dudley threw cereal at the walls (which is why Mr. Dursley could not kiss him good-bye).

"It took him fifteen years to stop that."

"By the way Harry, what year is it? And why do you still look seventeen? And -?"

"The year is 2014, but I won't answer anymore questions from now on."

Mr. Dursley was being a bad parent by saying 'Little tyke' instead of telling his son not to do this again.

"He most definitely was not little", Collin Creevey stated.

Mr. Dursley drove his car and at the corner he noticed a cat reading a map, the first unusual thing of the day.

The muggles looked perplexed.

"Why is a-", Bruce wanted to know.

"Ignore it", Harry interrupted, "If you would be so kind to continue, Mr. Stark?"

"It's Tony. I'll be cliché and say: Mr. Stark was my father."

Mr. Dursley was in denial about the fact that he saw a cat reading a map. After all cats are not able to do this. Neither can they read signs, even if it looks like it.

"Unless it's Minnie", Sirius whispered to the other magical pranksters.

"One Galleon?", James asked.

Sirius shrugged: "It's your money."

Mr. Dursley shook himself and began to think of his job until he saw 'funny dressed people' while being stuck in the everyday traffic jam. Mr. Dursley loathes people dressing not ordinary, so he mentally ranted about young people and their stupid new fashions.

"Actually it's a cool, practical old fashion", Teddy corrected.

"Practical?" Steve questioned.

"Great for stepping onto someone's toes", Harry replied.

Mr. Dursley, after insulting the people in cloaks, notices that it can't be teenage fashion, as there were quite old people in the crowd. How dare they!

"Just because it's the Slytherin color...", Regulus whispered to Severus.

"I doubt it."

Mr. Dursley, again in denial, had the thought that the people were collecting for something. Then the traffic moved and he got to work, thinking about drills again.

"One track mind. Drills aren't that exciting", Sirius said.

"What are these drills?", Collin Regulus asked.

"How do you know what - these things - are?", Regulus wondered.

"All four of us – that reminds me, where's Pete? Anyway, all four of us are taking Muggle studies", Sirius answered while Remus and James were nodding along, "And you know that, except Peter, we all are in the top five with Lily and that Ravenclaw, Leo Daniels or something."

"What are muggle studies? How can you not know what drills are?", Tony asked the wizards who refused to answer.

We learn about Mr. Dursley's day in the office which was perfectly normal, especially in comparison to the rest of England. Mr. Dursley's mornings seem to consist mainly of shouting.

"Productive", Tony commented sarcastically, "Especially since yelling normally indicates that something is wrong."

Shouting seems to put Mr. Dursley into a good mood, so he was in one until lunchtime.

"That's his good mood?", Tonks asked perplexed.

"Yeah, you don't wanna see him in a bad mood", Harry answered shuddering.

Tony, Natasha, Clint and Bruce were looking at each other. They all had concluded the same thing: abuse. As did Sirius and Serverus, but they kept their conclusion to themselves. Except for Severus every person mentioned was getting at least slightly angry.

The book claimed that Mr. Dursley used this brain to think.

"He can think?", Tony questioned sounding honestly surprised.

The book claimed that Mr. Dursley would voluntary move his legs

"WHAT?", Clint added.

The book further claimed that Mr. Dursley – are you ready to hear this – _walked._

"He does exercise? I'm seriously worried now", Darcy continued.

The book was by now absolutely ridiculous and dared to claim that Mr. Dursley would move down the building AND across the road.

"Okay, the apocalypse started! Save yourself!", Fred shouted, hiding under the table.

The book came to its senses and explained that food was the reason for Mr. Dursley's strange behavior. A bun, to be precise.

"That explains it...Wait...Just one?", Remus asked, while Fred crawled out from under the table.

We learn that Mr. Dursley is at best forgetful and at worst an amnesiac, as he had already forgotten the people he insulted the entire length of the way to his job. We also are informed that he met one of these groups again while he was on the way back to his office and they terrified him, even if he does not formulate it like this. Mr. Dursley was forced to change his theory (the groups collecting for something) as not one person had a collection tin. He also broke his promise, although that is slightly exaggerated, to buy a bun by buying a doughnut instead.

"Okay, it was a large dough...I thought he wanted a bun", James II asked, looking at Harry.

Mr. Dursley spied on them and heard the group gossiping about the Potters and their son Harry. He froze in a way you could, had he not been standing, mistake for him being dead and this is why it was described as 'Stopped dead'.

"Why not literally?", James I asked the ceiling which had no answer for him. I don't know what he expected.

Mr. Dursley, terrified, thought for a second about asking them for more detail (or something), but then did something he had never done before. He ran. _Voluntary_. He nearly called home, but stopped as he made the most important discovery since the wheel: He was stupid.

"Acceptance is the first step to be good again", Albus said wisely.

"Shame it didn't work. I personally think he was too stupid to remember this", Teddy told the eight-year-old.

The book gives us the information that Potter is indeed a quite common name.

"It is uncommon!", James protested.

"In the muggle world it's rather common. As is Black", answered Harry.

"Really?" asked the Black brothers - which totally sounds like a band, don't you think - Sirius looking hopeful and Regulus horrified.

"Yes, it's a quite common last name. I believe I had three unrelated people with that last name in my class in Elementary School", Lily confirmed.

"What is a muggle?", Jubel asked recieving no answer.

We gain further evidence that Mr. Dursley is at least forgetful, as he does not know, if the name of his nephew is Harry, Harvey or Harold. Additionally, he had never seen the boy-whose-name-he-forgot. And he was yet again in denial, as he reminded himself that there were a lot of Harry Potters in Britain.

"As if I would name my son _Harvey_", James I snorted "I'd like not to be killed by Sirius"

"I have thought about naming my child Harold though", Lily voiced her thouhgts, "My maternal uncle who died from cancer last year had that name."

James I smiled, as Lily had, albeit indirectly, agreed that they would have a child together.

Mrs. Dursley is being a bad sister and always turns upset when you mention her. You're only allowed to do this, if the sister is a) injured, b) in danger, c) ill (and more than a cold) or d) dead. To her knowledge, none of these were the case.

"Again, love you too", Lily commented sarcastically.

Mr. Dursley was ashamed for his wife's sister and thought – more like implied actually – his sister is way better.

"Your sister has a mustache", Harry stated, causing the room to grin or laugh...or do nothing in the case of Natasha and Fury.

Mr. Dursley had problems concentrating on drills that afternoon. He walked straight into a poor someone when he left the building at 5 PM. We do not know when he learned it, but he apologized.

"He knows that word? Hermione said, she never heard her grandpa saying that", Albus told the others.

Fred was the most confused. "Hermione? As in Hermione Granger?"

"No, as in Hermione Dursley, Dudley's second child", Harry replied, "His children are Harry Dudley, Hermione Alicia, Ronald Fred and Ginerva Marlene."

Fred stared at the Master of Death shocked: "WHAT?! That...? He...? Why?"

"Fifth till seventh book", Harry answered cryptically.

The man Mr. Dursley ran into naturally was close to falling. Then Mr. Dursley saw the man was wearing a cloak, violet in color, and that he did not seem to care that he was almost knocked down, as he was too busy smiling and telling Mr. Dursley (in a voice so squeaky it made passers-by _stare_) that You-Know-Who was finally gone.

"He's gone?!" the people from the seventies wondered.

"Yes", Tonks and Teddy answered.

"For that time", Fred and Collin added.

"How?", Regulus requested further information, silently wondering if perhaps he should not join the Death Eaters.

"Who is that You-know-Who-bloke?", Pepper voiced the question that was more or less evident on the face of every person without magic.

The man added that even 'muggles' like Mr. Dursley should be celebrating, hugged him somehow and made his way off. Mr. Dursley was baffled and didn't move for a while. When he did move again, he hurried to get home and hoped he had imagined things. This was a first, as Mr. Dursley did not approve of imagination.

"Can I kill him?", Clint asked Fury who seemed to consider it for a second before shaking his head.

"Unless he commits a crime, no."

"Does child abuse count as crime?", Clint whispered in his girlfriend's ear.

Natasha nodded and both of them, as well as Tony and Bruce who had guessed the quiet conversation, began to grin sadistically and thus causing everyone else but Pepper and Betty to edge away.

When Mr. Dursley arrived home, he saw the cat he had seen in the morning on his garden wall. He tried to make her leave, keyword being tried. The cat's only response was a stern look.

Mr. Dursley wondered if cats always did that.

Gathering himself, he walked into his home, his decision not to tell his wife anything standing. Mrs. Dursley's day was normal and we are given the highly useful information that Mrs. Next-Door had problems with her daughter whose age is not mentioned, so you could assume that the daughter was a rebellious teen.

"Interesting name", James grinned, "Mrs. Next-Door."

"I wonder if she's friends with Mr. Across-The-Street", Sirius smiled.

"Or Miss Around-The-Corner?", the third Marauder finished.

On another note, Dudley had learned a new and highly useful word: Won't.

Severus snorted. "Such an accomplishment." He would bet that that word was along Potter's first too. And he meant both James Potters and that boy, Connor or something, as the others seemed a bit more tolerable.

Mr. Dursley was trying to act as if nothing was out of the ordinary. After their son was in bed, the parents watched the news. The news report tells them (and us) that the owls had been behaving strange everywhere and that no one had an explanation for this. The newscaster grinned as if he knew something. During the transition to the weather, we hear the newscaster's name, Ted.

"Was that grandma Andy's husband?", Teddy wondered.

"My Dad died too?", Tonks asked crestfallen.

The weatherman told England that there were fireworks everywhere and – totally surprising – it would rain the night. Mr. Dursley had seen too many abnormal things (The fireworks, the owls, the people in cloaks and the whisper about the Potters) which somehow seemed connected, so he took all his courage and cleared his throat when his wife came back from the kitchen with tea.

"Be brave for once, make Harry proud", James II yelled, "And to clarify things: I mean your grandson."

Mr. Dursley asks Petunia, his wife, if she had heard from her sister. Petunia did not look pleased, she normally pretended she was an only child. When Petunia wanted to know why Mr. Dursley asked, he told her of the weird things and that it may have something to do with his sister-in-law's crowd, but he was too afraid to tell that he heard the name Potter.

"Coward", Darcy snorted.

The conversation shifted to the Potter's son, in Dudley's age and named, not Howard no, but Harry, which the Dursleys think to be a nasty common name.

"Well, no one asked you", James I snarled.

They went to bed, but he looked out of the window and saw the cat still sitting there, as if waiting for something or someone. For the second time he wondered if he was imagining things and wondered if it was all connected to the Potters and what they would do if their secret leaked.

"If it wouldn't be so bad for us, I'd make sure everyone knew of that", James I laughed.

They went to bed and only Petunia was able to fall asleep directly. Convincing himself that the Potters would not come to them, even if they were involved, as they knew what the Dursleys thought about them and their kind.

"Why would I go near you", James I asked, "Voluntary at that? I mean, if Lily wanted to try to fix the relationship with her sister, maybe, but I see no other reason to go in a three mile radius of these people."

He fell asleep, thinking that they could not be affected. He was far from being right the book tells us.

"That one time he could have been right...", Harry muttered.

Even when Mr. Dursley finally feel asleep, the cat seemed not to be sleepy OR tired at all. Unmoving, not even blinking, as if it had been turned to stone at some point, the cat watched the far corner of the street. It stayed like this until midnight (or close to it), even when a car door slammed on the next street and when two owls swooped overhead. When the cat moved, it was because a man had appeared out of nowhere. _Literally._

"How?!", all non-magical people, except the spies, screamed. But Clint is included in the group of people who did.

The cat twitched its tale and narrowed its eyes. There had never been anyone like this particular man in Privet Drive in, like, ever. The man was thin, very old, tall, and both his hair and beard were long enough to tuck into his belt. The man was wearing high-heeled, buckled boots, long robes and a purple cloak that reached the ground. The man's blue eyes were sparkling rightly behind half-moon glasses. His nose seemed to have been broken a minimum of two times. We hear that the man is called Albus Dumbledore.

"Awesome fashion sense this Dumbledore has", Tony chuckled.

"That's our headmaster", chorused the past Gryffindors and Tonks, while Albus said the same just with namesake.

Dumbledore either didn't know or didn't care that everything about him (from his Name and boots to his nose) was not welcome in this neighborhood. Dumbledore searched his pockets for something, seemingly not realizing at first he was being watched by the cat, and when he did, he found it funny for some reason, muttering that he should have known to himself. Finally having found the object he had searched, which looked like a silver cigarette lighter, he opened it, held it towards the sky and clicked it. With a pop, the next best lamp decided that stopping to work was the best thing to do.

"Where can I get this?", Fred asked.

"Ask Ron when he comes, if you can borrow it. That thing is unique, by the way."

He repeated his actions. Twelve times the Put-Outer was clicked.

"Deluminator", Harry corrected.

Two tiny pinpricks in the distance were the only lights left, and these were the eyes of the cat. No one would see anything, if they felt the need to look out of the window at midnight for whatever reason. Dumbledore put the object back in his pocket and walked to the wall next to the cat where he sat down, not looking at it. After a few seconds he spoke to it though, calling it 'Professor McGonagall'.

"Let's be quiet. I want to get over that quickly", Harry said seeing the questioning faces of the muggles.

When Dumbledore turned to the cat, it had been replaced by a woman, looking rather severe and distinctly ruffled; wearing square glasses in the same shape the cat had markings around its eyes, an emerald-green cloak and her hair in a tight bun. The woman, most likely Professor McGonagall inquired how Dumbledore had known the cat was her to which he replied that not cat would sit that stiff. She countered that she had sat on a brick wall all day and he'd be too had he done the same.

Dumbledore asks why she'd do that when everyone else was celebrating. McGonagall sniffed angrily and mentions that even the Muggles – a term which is not further explained – had noticed something, namely the things that had annoyed Mr. Dursley – whose first name is still unknown – all day, and that the muggles weren't completely stupid and bound to notice something. The fireworks are said to be the doing of one Dedalus Diggle who apparently never possessed common sense. Dumbledore defended the people, as they had spent the last eleven years with little to no reason to celebrate. McGonagall states that she's aware of that, but that they should not lose their head and be downright careless like these people were. Shooting a sharp glance at Dumbledore as if hoping for him to interrupt, she continued that it would be a fine thing if the muggles would find out all about them on the first day without the mysterious 'You-Know-Who'. She asked Dumbledore if he was really gone to which he replied that it looked like it and that they have much to be thankful for. He then offered her a lemon drop. She did not know what it was and he explained it was muggle candy. She refused, thinking it was not the right moment for any kind of candy. She tried to go on but Dumbledore interrupted her basically forcing her to say You-Know-Who's real name: Voldemort. She flinched at the mention of the name and he said they had nothing to fear from a name. She replied that he would not have a reason to as he was the only one Voldemort was afraid of. Dumbledore said he's flattered and that Voldemort had powers he'd never possess. McGonagall states that that's only because he was too noble to use them. Dumbledore answered that he hadn't blushed that much since Madam Pomfrey told him she liked his earmuffs, so it was lucky it was dark. McGonagall glared at Dumbledore and asked, most anxious to discuss the real reason she had spent the day as a cat, if he knew the rumors as to why Voldemort had disappeared, what had finally stopped him. She was not going to believe what they were saying until Dumbledore confirmed it was true. The man in question chose to eat another lemon drop instead of answering, so she continued to tell the rumor. That last night Voldemort went to Godric's Hollow to find the Potters. The rumor also stated –

Tony paused. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"What happened that the great Tony Stark is sorry?", Pepper asked playfully.

We learn that Lily and James Potter had recently died in the book.

All of the good mood was gone.

Lily sobbed in James shoulder: "We're going to die when we're 21."

The other Marauders, Severus and Regulus refused to believe it.

Everyone else put their heads down.

Tonks was staring at her cousin angrily, after all he had betrayed them. _But why is he here instead of Peter Pettigrew?_ Tonks wondered quietly.

He (meaning Dumbledore) bowed his head and she (meaning McGonegall) gasped, stating she doesn't believe it or at least doe not want to. He petted her shoulder. McGonagall continued with a trembling voice, that the rumor also states that Voldemort tried to kill little Harry who, as we heard, was a toddler around Dudley's age.

"NO!"

"Right here, Mum!"

We learn that the mighty Voldemort had not only been unable to kill a toddler, but had been defeated by him.

Loki snorted. That Voldemort guy _obviously_ was not nearly as bad as him.

Fury's cellphone beeped.

"Hill, Coulson, we have to go."

The three of them went out and James I asked: "You got rid of Voldyshorts, son. Merlin, that feels awkward..."

"Yes, Dad did! Twice!", James II tried to show off.

When Dumbledore nodded in confirmation, McGonagall could not believe it. Voldemort had killed a high number of people only to be stopped by a toddler, after all. She wondered how Harry survived to which Dumbledore replied that they may never know and could only guess.

"He knew. Daddy says Dumbledore knew almost everything", Lily II said.

"That's right, honey."

After a time of silent grief, Dumbledore checked his watch with twelve hands no numbers and little planets moving around the edge, stating that a someone named Hagrid, who had McGonagall Dumbledore would be at Privet Drive, was late. She wondered why he's there out of all places and he replied that he intended to let the Dursleys, the only family Harry had left, take care of Harry.

"WHY?! Why not Remus, Sirius, Peter, Dorcas, Marlene, Alice, hell I'd even prefer Severus and Regulus to them!"

"In that order? Wasn't allowed, was innocent in Azkaban, should have been there, dead, dead, tortured to insanity, don't actually know, dead."

"Thanks for make me feel even more sad and angry."

McGonagall cried in protest, jumping up and pointing at number 4. She said that you could not find people less like them and that Dudley was a horrible child. Just that day he had kicked his mother all the way up the street while screaming for sweets.

"I would hate him, but he's very nice now", Albus said.

When McGonagall had finished protesting, Dumbledore stated that it was the best place for Harry and that the Dursleys would be able to explain Harry everything when he was old enough. He had written them a letter after all.

"Tell me he's kidding", Lily I pleaded, "They'll just ignore it."

"I'd lie."

McGonagall had to sit down again after the man's statement. She voiced her concerns how the situation and that the family would never understand Harry, who would be famous.

"You're famous?", Betty asked.

"Yep", Harry answered, popping the 'p'.

McGonagall also said that Harry would be a legend.

"Check", James smiled.

McGonagall stated she wouldn't be surprised if the day would be known as Harry Potter day in the future.

"Nope, still Halloween. Just like 2nd May and 31st July aren't", Teddy laughed.

McGonagall predicts that there would be books written about Harry.

"Like this one", Tony interrupted himself.

McGonagall finished that every child in their world will know the name Harry Potter.

"Was a role model at age one, check", Albus smiled.

Dumbledore, looking serious, agreed with McGonagall and added that this way his fame would not grow over his head, as he would be famous before he could talk or walk for something he would not even remember and that it would be better to grow up away from it.

"I would have hated it anyways. I'm sure."

"Being famous can be a big burden", Tony said, surprising those who knew him. Except for Pepper and Bruce who knew him well enough to be able to look through (some of) his masks.

McGonagall grudgingly agreed and asked how Harry would be getting to them while looking at his companion as if searching the toddler. Dumbledore replied that the one named Hagrid he had mentioned earlier would be bringing him. McGonagall did not think it was wise to trust Hagrid with it and Dumbledore stated he would trust Hagrid with his life.

"Me too, just not with my secrets", all Gryffindors and Tonks added, but not simultaneously.

McGonagall said she knew Hagrid was a good man, just careless. She was interrupted by a low rumbling sound which grew louder second by second. When the pair looked up, they saw a huge motorcycle falling out of the air and landing in front of them. The man was even huger than the motorcycle.

"COOL!", Sirius exclaimed eyes wide open, "I need one!"

Several other people nodded in agreement.

The man who arrived with the motorcycle, presumably Hagrid, was at least five times as wide as a normal man and twice as big, looking too big to be allowed and wild with his beard with hid most of his face, his bushy black hair, his hands as big as trash can lids and feet in boots like baby dolphins, made out of leather. The man held a bundle of blankets in his vast muscular arms.

"He sounds scary", Lily II said, hiding in her Daddy's arms.

"Lilyflower, you know, it's just Hagrid."

"Really?" she asked, looking in Harry's face, trying to catch him lying.

"Yes, Aunt Hermione just likes describing that way."

"Then Aunt 'Mione made me feel scared", the six-year-old stated, crossing her arms in front of her and looking insanely cute doing so.

The room, or most of it, smiled fondly at the display. A rather large part wished for a childhood similar to the ones of the Potter children and Teddy.

We learn that Hagrid borrowed the motorcycle from Sirius Black.

"It's mine? WHOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!", Sirius cheered, throwing his arms in the air and doing a little victory dance.

Hagrid said that he got Harry without problems, except for the fact the house was destroyed, and that the toddler fell asleep over Bristol.

"AWWWWWW!", cooed every female, except Natasha.

The Professors bent over to take a look and saw a barely visible toddler boy, asleep with jet black hair and a lightning scar on his forehead. In response to McGonagall's question, Dumbledore stated that he would not remove the scar even if he could, because scars could come in handy.

"Yep, it was good for headaches", Harry said, everyone else was much to sad to say something.

Dumbledore has a scar above his left knee which is a perfect map of the London Underground. After Hagrid had said good-bye to Harry Dumbledore laid him and the letter on the Dursley's doorstep while McGonagall tried to stop a crying Hagrid from waking everyone up. After a few moments of depressing silence, Dumbledore wanted to join the parties and Hagrid said he intended to bring Sirius his bike back.

"I hope."

"I have it now. You can borrow it. All past people can sleep at my house, except Fred, you have to sleep at George's."

After Hagrid left with the motorcycle, Dumbledore went to the corner where he came for and clicked the 'Put-Outer' and freed the light by clicking once. McGonagall had turned into a cat again. "Wonder where that luck went so long. It only comes when I was with your mother, Teddy or you four", Harry said, ruffling Collin through the black hair.

Dumbledore left the way he arrived. Privet Drive is described as the last place you'd expect astonishing things to happen. We hear that Harry started to cuddle with the letter, not knowing he was special or famous. Not expecting to be woken a few hours later by Mrs. Dursley's scream when she wanted to put out the milk bottles or to be bullied by his new caretakers, including their son, for the next time. Dudley would prod and pinch Harry for example.

"Why was Uncle Dudley such a meanie?", Albus asked his father.

"His only role model before he was fifteen was Vernon."

"Oh"

People all over Britain were drinking to Harry Potter – the Boy-Who-Lived.

That was the end of the Chapter.

"At least one question has been answered", concluded Thor.

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><p><strong>My longest chapter to date. (When I first wrote this)<strong>

**Disclaimer: If I would own the Avengers, I'd use some of the money to fly to the moon. I have not been on the moon, so I don't own the Avengers, Harry Potter, or anybody else, except Collin Regulus Potter and minor OCs like Leo Daniels.**

**Please review.**

****~Marvelgeek42****


	3. The Vanishing Glass

**Hello!  
><strong>

**88 Followers and 54 Favorites! Are you kidding me!? I mean, it´s awesome, but I can´t believe it!**

* * *

><p><em>"At least one question has been answered", concluded Thor.<em>

* * *

><p>"Wait a second", demanded Bruce, " I have two questions. First: What are these "Galleons" James and Sirius were betting about? Second: If it was your flying motorcycle, which I also want explained, why didn´t you stop him?"<p>

Harry decided to explain, as probably nobody else knew the whole story: "Galleons are money, which will be explained later. Sirius future, or past, version went after the person whose fault it was that Voldemort came. More will come later. I promise."

"Okay, then lets go on", laughed James while handing Sirius one golden coin, "**Chapter Two The Vanishing Glass** sounds like mpgh -" James couldn´t continue, because his son clapped his and over James mouth.

"We are not telling this particular fact yet, understood?", asked Harry, causing the magical people and Loki to laugh and the rest to wonder. James nodded and read on

**Nearly ten years had passed**

"**That means, soon it´s time for -", exclaimed Sirius.**

Harry threatened: "Did you forget, what I just said?"

"Don´t make Dad angry", advised Albus the rest, "He is scary when he´s angry."

**since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all.**

"Boooooooring", sany Darcy to the amusement of the pranksters.

**The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls.**

"Fateful? Overreacting much?!", yelled Regulus. His brother clapped him one the shoulder.

"I always knew, you had it in you."

Lily wondered why nobody fought in that room. Normally, something arleady would have happened.

**Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed.**

"Logically", concluded Bruce.

**Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different coloured bonnets**

"Why would anyone make photos of a beachball?", demanded Jubel

Harry and the others who saw Dudley at this point of time grinned. "Wait for it"

—**but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby,**

"That is unhealty!", screamed Lily I, "He´ll die!"

"Makes it feel better that he is a personaltrainer in this time?", asked Teddy

Fred had to make sure he heard correctly: "Excuse me? HE is a personaltrainer?"

"Yes, he is!", screamed an excited James II, "He always takes Harry and me to his gym and teached us! That is increibly awesome!"

**and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother.**

"What?", asked the past purebloods (and Lily, as computers weren´t that far yet) (Tedy and Harry´s kids learned it from Harry, Hermonie and Dudley)

"You´re all from the past? Then it is okay", said a sligthly confused Tony

**The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too.**

"They better ta-te-treat Daddy right", threated Lily II

**Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day.**

"It sucks tobe woken up from this", infomed Lily the rest.

**"Up! Get up! Now!"**

**Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again.**

"Gee, give him some time!", groaned Clint

**"Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove.**

"You have a good hearing, Daddy", complimated Collin.

Harry gulped. The Cupboard.

**He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it.**

"You hear that? MY giant flying motorcycle!", roared Sirius, earning him a smack from Remus. "You know that I have sensitive ears."

**He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.**

"BREAK! Here are Clamingg Draughts, believe me, all of you will need them.", Harry preapared the others.

Bruce, Remus, Sirius, James and Lily directly grapped a small bottle each.

**His aunt was back outside the door.**

**"Are you up yet?" she demanded.**

**"Nearly," said Harry.**

**"Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."**

**Harry groaned.**

"I would have too", Tonks tol everyone.

**"What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.**

"Nothing", was agressivly whispered by everyone except Bruce, who began to open his bottle.

**"Nothing, nothing…"**

**Dudley's birthday—how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on. Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and...**

James stopped reading, turned to Lily and asked: "Will you visit me in Azkaban when I´m in there?"

"Why would you be in this hellhole?"

"For murdering your sister. Listen:"

**because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them and that was where he slept**

"James. I won´t need to visit you. I will be in your cell for turturing her and Vermin."

"I´ll join you", muttered all males and some, scratch that, most adults. The non-magicals just assumed, correctly, that it was a prison.

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike.**

"That much!", exclaimed Tony and James I, surprising everybody, because it was common knowledge they were spoiled.

"I never was spoiled", elaborated Tony, "Howard just made me gifts for publicity, let me know this from early age and it never was a toy or something."  
>"I may be a bit spioled, but I had limits. I got one big present and four or five smaller ones. Not", he paused to read ahead, "Not bloody 37!"<p>

**Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry,**

"And to me", muttered everyone who didn´t know him.

**as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise—unless of course it involved punching somebody.**

"That better not mean Harry...!", was hearded through the whole room.

**Dudley's favourite punching bag was Harry,**

If anybody was outside, all they would hear was growling, like seven Remuses (Remi?) on full moon.

**but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast.**

"At least there´s that"

**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age.**

"Sure it´s not your Dad´s genes", joked Sirius.

All Potters glared at him.

**He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. **

"Urgh"

"He is not like that now!", Collin defended his Uncle.

**Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes. He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Sellotape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning.**

"But you don´t like it!", protested Lily II

"At that time I liked it."

"Okay."

**He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.**

**"In the car crash when your parents died,"**

Even on the other end of the Helicarrier you could hear it. "HOW DARE SHE!"

**she had said. "And don't ask questions."**

"How could you learn?", asked all brainiacs (Remus, Tony, Jane, Betty, Albus, Lily, Lily Luna, Regulus)  
>"That was the point, I shouldn´t"<p>

**Don't ask questions—that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.**

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon.**

**"Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.**

**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way—all over the place.**

**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel—Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.**

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell.**

**"Thirty six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."**

"Is he Siriusly disappointed?", asked the pranksters.

**"Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, its here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy."**

"Wasn´t that Uncle Dudley´s eleventh birthday?", asked Collin

"Yes"

"Why is she saying that like he was six?"

**"All right, thirty seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.**

"That ha happened dozens of times..."

**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?"**

"That is no way to handle that!"

**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty … thirty…"**

**"Thirty nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.**

**"Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then."**

**Uncle Vernon chuckled. "Little tyke**

"LITTLE!", screamed nearly the whole room.

"There´s nothing little at him!", yelled Darcy

"Yes there is", said Fred. At the curios looks he added, "His brain"

"He is actually quite smart, if he wants to be", Harry defended his cousin.

Most wondered why.

**wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair.**

**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.**

**"Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him." She jerked her head in Harry's direction.**

"MY DADDY HAS A NAME!", yelled Lily Luna, bursting out with accidential magic, making all chairs pink.

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.**

"Poor Harry/Dad"

**"Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this. Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again.**

**"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.**

"Not her!", yelled Teddy, James II, Albus, Lily II and Collin

**"Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy."**

"Feeling is mutal"

"I sense a story..."

"Third Book"

**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there—or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug.**

**"What about what's her name, your friend—Yvonne?"**

"They are still friends!?"

**"On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia.**

**"You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).**

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.**

"Nothing out of ordinary there"

**"So no different to normal" muttered Lily.**

**"And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.**

**"I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening.**

"I would have", muttered the pranksters

**"I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "…and leave him in the car…"**

**"That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone…"**

"Of course, the car is far more important than your nephew!"

Bruce had only half of a bottle now, what would he do later?

**Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying—it had been years since he'd really cried—but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.**

**"Dinky Duddydums, don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.**

**"I… don't… want… him… t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp-spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms.**

"Honestly, I want to kill him", pleaded Clint, "Or at least his father?"

**Just then, the doorbell rang—"Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically—and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat.**

"Like Peter! Why isn´t he here?", whispered Sirius to the other Marauders

"Dunno, but Harry said something about he should have been in prison", answered James

**He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.**

**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life. His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**

"Just leave him alone, you annoying muggle!", exclaimed Regulus.

Everyone else stare at him either angry or confused.

Severus helped his friend: "You realize we are here with...ten muggles, two gods and thirteen people who extremely dislike Death Eaters, including their opinions?"

**"I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, "I'm warning you now, boy—any funny business, anything at all—and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."**

**"I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly…"**

**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did.**

"As proven in the year of the toad", chorused Fred and George, who had arrived just in time to hear the last sentence.

"Everyone, that is Fred´s twin George"

"Uncle George!", yelled Harry´s kids before storming at him.

"Did you bring something form WWW?"

"No, Roxanne and Fred will."

Clint asked: "I thought he was here already?"

"His child", concluded Bruce.

"Again, I won´t ask..."

**The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen.**

"But you did, Daddy!?" Lily looked at his face.

"I didn´t know that than."

"Did you know anything?", asked James II, not liking how dumb his father sounded.

**Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses. Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off. He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.**

**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls)—The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry. Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished.**

"FINALLY!"

Remus made a mental note to search a way he would not get deaf in a break.

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney. The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump.**

"Did you...?"  
>"No idea"<p>

**But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage smelling living room.**

**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favourite subjects.**

"There was no need to say Harry thrice, we got you the first time, Vermin"

**This morning, it was motorcycles.**

"YOU DON´T DARE!"

"SIRIUS! I. Have. Sensitive. Ears!"

**"…roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them.**

**"I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying."**

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a moustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"**

"Mine does"

**Dudley and Piers sniggered.**

**"I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream."**

**But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon—they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas.**

"He needs "  
>"no help"<br>"for that"

Merlin, George was so happy to be able to that again.

**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away,**

"Go Lady in the van!", cheered the pranksters.

**they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop. It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond.**

"DADDY! Do not be mean to that poor gorilla!"

"She´s right, son, what has he ever done to you?"

"I apologized"

**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favourite hobby of hitting him.**

The wolves were there again. **(A/N What would Remus think of this sentence?)**

**They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first.**

"Is he real?"

"That is Dudley Vernon Dursley age eleven. What do you think, Mom?"

**Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

"Pessimist"

"Live my life, than judge afterwards"

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can—but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.**

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.**

**"Make it move," he whined at his father.**

"He can´t", muttered Regulus

**Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge.**

**"Do it again," Dudley ordered.**

"He still can´t", repeated Severus.

**Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.**

**"This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.**

**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself—no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house.**

"Are you comparing yourself with a snake?"

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's.**

**It winked.**

"You´re a parselmouth?", James I asked.

"Yeah, as well as your grandkids", answered Harry.

"Hey, I just wondered how! It´s awesome!", screamed James I in fear of having hurt his son.  
>"And we´d be real hypocrites", added Sirius, "Thinking of Remus or my family, sans Reg."<p>

"Okay, what is a parselmouth?", asked Tony

"What´s so bad about it?", continued Bruce

"What is with Remus?", added Natasha  
>"And your family?", finished Jane<p>

**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too.**

**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly:**

**"I get that all the time."**

**"I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying."**

**The snake nodded vigorously.**

**"Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked.**

**The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it.**

**Boa Constrictor, Brazil.**

**"Was it nice there?"**

"Not weird at all..."

**The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see—so you've never been to Brazil?"**

**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump.**

**"DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"**

**Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.**

A few pranksters actually fell of their chairs

**"Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened—one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.**

"What happened?"

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.**

**As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come… Thanksss, amigo."**

"The snake can speak?", asked all non-magical brainiacs.

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.**

**"But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"**

"In the non-being, which is saying into everything"

**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"**

"Why you little..."

"Don´t swear in front of the kids"

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go—cupboard—stay—no meals," **

"THAT IS NO PUNISHMENT!"

**before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.**

**Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.**

"You shouldn´t have to do that", Lily sobbed

**He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died.**

"There was no car", said Collin C.

"Really? I thought so, even after I was famous for 24 damn years!"

**Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead.**

"The..."

Remus bottle was half empty now, James and Lily each had one, and Bruce one and a half.

**This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all.**

"Now I can, a bit..."

**His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.**

"We have some at home", informed Collin the others quickly.

**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were his only family. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him.**

"Still do"

**Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.**

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.**

"Who even has a gang at eleven?"

"Uncle Dudley"

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: If I own anything that makes money, George Washington is just singing "Same Love" from Makemore behind you.<strong>

**Please review!**

**~Marvelgeek42**


	4. Letters from No One

**I know, that wait was waaaaaaaaaaaaay to long. I already had the Chapter about 90% when my sister deleted it. On purpose. *growl* And I had a surgery (at my teeth). And...I was not in the mood for writing this most of the time, I admit it.**

**Anyways, thanx to every one of the *gasp* 135 people who followed and 101 people who favorised this fic.**

**This Chapter is dedicated to *drumroll* sweetchick621 who reviewed and favourised almost all of my story. Thank you for that!**

* * *

><p>James looked around: "I´m finished, who´s next?"<p>

Albus jumped up and down: "I wanna!"

"I don´t see why not. Here Al"

"Thank you Grandpa."

Grandpa. That felt weird. Just think about it: James Potter I was currently sitting in a room with this 34-year-old son looking like seventeen, his grand-kids and several other people and the love of his life and future mother of his son has not agreed to date him yet. Go figure how that works. If you find out, tell James I, because he can´t.

Albus started to read: **Letters from No One**

"How could a letter be from no one?"  
>"You´ll see."<p>

**The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment.**

"Such a great way to start a chapter"; commented Remus sarcastically.

**By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started**

Lily looked at Harry as if ready to threaten him. What she was as the next thing she said...well more like muttered was: "How. Long."

"Two or three...months", answered Harry whispering.

"THEY LOKED YOU IN THERE SEVERAL MONTHS?! YOU HAD TO GO TO SCHOOL!"

"I was supposedly a very ill child."

Growling.

**and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.**

"He...why..."  
>None of them could imagine the reactions of their parentsguardians, if THEY did something like that. Everyone's shuddering.

**Harry was glad school was over,**

"I would be", said all non-brainiacs. And even some of them, who had been bullied in school.

**but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day.**

"I would be out of the house as often as possible", said Ron who leaned in the door.

"Everyone that doesn´t know, this is Ron Weasley, my best friend and brother-in-law. Ron, this is everyone."

The pranksters laughed and Ron muttered something like: "Really helpful"

**Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader**

"Reeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally good technique...", groaned Clint

**The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favorite sport: Harry Hunting.**

"Why you little", muttered Sirius and James

"Dude, stop. Anyone that teaches one of these kids swear words, will feel pain", advised Ron.

**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope.**

"HOGWARTS", yelled the children as well as Ron, Fred and George.

"I did not know that yet."

**When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley. **

"YEEEEEEEES!"

**Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings.**

"Smeltings. That sounds like an illness"

**Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school. Dudley thought this was very funny.**

"...Why?"

**"They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"**

"He better not have..."

**"No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it — it might be sick." Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said. **

"There was no need to run."

"He can be smart...when he wants."

**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's. Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before.**

Sirius and Tony muttered something like: "Evil cats"

**She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years.**

"HOW DARE ARE YOU TO DO THAT TO CHOCLATE!", yelled Remus and Teddy.

The males, Darcy, Lily II, Jubel and Tonks giggled.

**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats,**

"Errrr...", began Tony looking disgusted. As did most others

**orange knickerbockers,**

"Well, that´s...", commented Darcy

**and flat straw hats called boaters.**

"I´m glad_ I _never had to wear this", said Clint

**They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life.**

"**Because that makes perfect sense", scolded Pepper.**

Thor disagreed with that statement. On Asgard, even the youngest began to train with weapons of their choice. He looked around the room and most looked like they agreed with that statement, so he decided not to voice his thoughts.

**As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, **

"Why would you do that?", asked Collin Regulus

**Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. **

"Sad life", someone mumbled

**Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins,**

Fred and George looked at each other and chorused: "We´re sorry that we called you Ickle Ronniekins."

**he looked so handsome and grown-up.**

"In which universe do you live?", wondered Jubel

**Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh.**

Nobody had such problems now.

**There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in for breakfast.**

"Of course. Tu-Petunia can´t cook to save her live"

"Granny Lily, can I sit on your lap?", asked Lily Luna with puppy dog eyes.

"Errr, sure."

**It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water.**

**"What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question. "Your new school uniform," she said.**

"I have never been more grateful for Hogwarts. Ever."

**Harry looked in the bowl again.**

**"Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."**

"Sarcasm is waste on her", sneered Severus

**"Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia.**

"See?"

**"I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished."**

"I seriouly doubt that", said James with everyone else nodding in agreement.

**Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue.**

"GASP! Harry? Not argue?", gasped Ron

**He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High — like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably.**

"I like the way you think", laughed Regulus

"Me too!", added most other people in the room.

**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table.**

"Ewwww"

**They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat.**

**"Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.**

Gred, Forge and the other pranksters looked at each other

"EVERYONE HIDE! IT IS THE APOCALYPSE!"

**"Make Harry get it."**

**"Get the mail, Harry."**

"You can come out, false arlam, we are safe."

**"Make Dudley get it."**

**"Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley." **

Growling.

**Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and — a letter for Harry.**

**Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him.**

"WHAT? What about Mo-"

"No nicknames before end of book three"

"Okay, what about Sirius, Remus and Peter? Alice, Frank, Dorcas? Little kids whose parents told them you´re a hero?"

"I dunno. Suppose they´re at Gringotts or something."

**Who would?**

"ME!", yelled Sirius and Remus

**He had no friends, no other relatives**

"LIE"**  
>— he didn't belong to the library, so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back.<strong>

"But I wanted to"

**Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake:**

**Mr. H. Potter**

**The Cupboard under the Stairs**

**4 Privet Drive**

**Little Whinging**

**Surrey**

"THEY KNEW?!", thundered, no, not Thor, the Marauders and Lily did.

"SAQ", was all Harry said. That somehow calmed down everyone. SAQ was the common way to short `Self-Addressing-Quills´

Harry looked to the Calming Draught-thingy. It was way to empty already. He had to get more. Quickly.

Bruce wondered: "I take the letter is way more important than it seems and like the key to your secret whatever?"

**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp.**

"Stamp?", asked Regulus

"I´ll tell you later"

**Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H.**

**"Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke.**

All pranksters pretended to – or actually – faint.

**Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope.**

**Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard.**

**"Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk…"**

"Please just die", muttered Harry.

**"Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!" **

"UNCLE DUDLEY, DON`T DO THAT!", yelled James II

**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon. "That's mine!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back.**

**"Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon,**

"ME!"

**shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights.**

"Ew"

**And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the grayish white of old porridge. "P-P-Petunia!" he gasped.**

**Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise. "Vernon! Oh my goodness — Vernon!"**

"Drama Queen!"

**They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that the children were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick. "I want to read that letter," he said loudly.**

**"I want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's mine." "Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope. Harry didn't move. "I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted. "Let me see it!" demanded Dudley.**

**"OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall and slamming the kitchen door behind them. Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; Dudley won, so Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor.**

"Good thinking"

**"Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address — how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?"**

"We have better thing to do."

As if we´d care for some stupid muggles, thought Regulus, although most of them here a

**"Watching — spying — might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly. "But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want —" Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen. "No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer… Yes, that's best… we won't do anything…" "But —" "I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"**

"STAMP OUT?! YOU CAN NOT STAMP OUT BEEEP!", yelled all magical people (incl. Loki).

They wondered, why they said `Beeep´ and looked to Harry.

"This way you don´t spoil the story"

**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard. "Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to me?" "No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. "I have burned it." "It was not a mistake,"**

"Yeah, because there are tons of Harry Potters living in a fu- in a much to little cupboard under the stairs. My bad. How could I be so stupid",said Tony sarcastically.

**said Harry angrily, "it had my cupboard on it." "SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling. He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful. "Er — yes, Harry — about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking… you're really getting a bit big for it… we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom.**

"...What? Did you just read Dudley´s SECOND bedroom?", growled James.

Albus nodded slowly.

"THAT SON OF A …..FEMALE DOG! No offense, Sirius. I WILL BEP YOU UNTIL YOU DIE!"

**"Why?" said Harry.**

"I was wondering why he was doing something nice. It did not fit him"

**"Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now."**

**The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom.**

"JUST THROW IT AWAY!"

**It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room. He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old video camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbor's dog; in the corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favorite program had been canceled;**

**there was a large birdcage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, **

"Best thing that has ever happened to Bird"

"Bird?"

"The name of the parrot."

"I´m glad he got better with naming. Otherwise his children would probably be called something like boy, girl, boy two, girl two or something."

**which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it. Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched. **

"It were good books. _Lord of the Rings_,_ Bram Stocker´s Dracula_, _Frankenstein_.

**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, "I don't want him in there… I need that room… make him get out…"**

"Brat"

**Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it.**

**Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise**

"Poor turtle. It was way to young to die. Yes, the name of the tortoise was turtle.

**through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room back. Harry was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly.**

**When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry, made Dudley go and get it. They heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one!"Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive —'"**

"He is an insult to the word moron"

**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind.**

"So you practiced!", exclaimed Ron. At the looks he and Harry got he added: "Halloween in this book"

**After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in his hand.**

**"Go to your cupboard — I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Harry. "Dudley — go — just go."**

**Harry walked round and round his new room. Someone knew he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn't received his first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time he'd make sure they didn't fail. He had a plan.**

"NO! The plans you make before fail!"

**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He mustn't wake the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights.**

**He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first. His heart hammered as he crept across the dark hall toward the front door —**

**"AAAAARRRGH!"**

James I looked like he was praying and muttered something.

Collin C. and Collin asked: "What are you doing /Grandpa?"

"I hope it is Verm- Vernon´s face."

His action was soon copied by...everyone except for Harry, who smirked.

**Harry leapt into the air; he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat — something alive! Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that the big, squashy something had been his uncle's face.**

Everybody cheered.

**Uncle Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn't do exactly what he'd been trying to do.**

"Nope. Aunt Petunia banned him from the bedroom and he was to large for the couch", Harry corrected himself which caused the rest to laugh.

**He shouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea. Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap. Harry could see three letters addressed in green ink.**

**"I want —" he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his eyes. Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot. "See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't deliver them they'll just give up" "I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon." "Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me,"**

"Thank BEEEEP.", breathed Remus with all other magical people agreeing.

"Yes, we actually have brains", said Regulus, "Although I admit, not _all _muggles are bad. Just most."

The Rest stared at him until Sirius yelled: "There is hope for you!".

The rest was either agreeing with him, wondering what a muggle was or, in Harry and Ron´s case, smiling knowingly. Okay, the children just looked confused, because they did not know that Regulus was a `pure-blood-idiot´as their Uncle George had named them.

**said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him.**

"And that is why I used to cook and bake."

**On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry. As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom. Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small noises.**

"Weirdo", muttered Clint, along with most others.

**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two-dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window.**

The room laughed.

**While Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor. "Who on earth wants to talk to you this badly?" Dudley asked Harry in amazement.**

"Half of the BEEEEEEEP World. Now the whole."

**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy. "No post on Sundays,"**

"Not in the BEEEEEEEP World", said Sirius while grinning a little too sadistic.

**he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmalade on his newspapers, "no damn letters today —" Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets.**

**The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one. "Out! OUT!"**

**Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall.**

"WHAT!?"

**When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor.**

**"That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his mustache at the same time. "I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!"**

**He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one dared argue.**

"Actually is was more funny-looking than dangerous."

**Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag.**

"Ow yeah, bad for you."

"Guys, he may be a not so nice person in the book, but he is nice now. It would be nice, if you could either use past tense or blame Vernon for his behavior."

The rest nodded, accepting and agreeing.

**They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while.**

**"Shake 'em off… shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this.**

"As if that would work"

**They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall Dudley was howling. He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer.**

"Brat. At this point of time."

**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. The kids shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored, but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering…**

"About the letters", Harry answered the unasked question.

**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day. They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table.**

**"'Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk."**

**She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address:**

**Mr. H. Potter**

**Room 17**

**Railview Hotel**

**Cokeworth**

**Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the way. The woman stared.**

"DO SOMETHING!"

**"I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room. "Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her.**

**Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage.**

**"Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon.**

"Even the pat-time idiot saw it."

"The real question should be "more mad than usual", provided Darcy.

**Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared. It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley snivelled.**

**"It's Monday,"**

"GASP!"

**he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a television." Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it was Monday — and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days the week,**

"Why?", Remus wanted to know

**because of television -**

"Ah, that´s why."

**then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday.**

"HAP-"

"You. Don´t. Dare."

"..."

**Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun — last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks. Still, you weren't eleven every day.**

**Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling. He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought. "Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!"**

"I have a bad feeling about this", said Pepper.

**It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine. One thing was certain; there was no television in there. "Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!"**

Teddy wondered: "Who would sell a fat whale with half a mustache a boat?"

**A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below them.**

**"I've already got us some rations," **

"Pha. Rations"

**said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!"**

**It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces. After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house.**

**The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms.**

**Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas.**

**He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shrivelled up.**

**He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail.**

**Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up at all.**

**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Aunt Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor they could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blankets.**

"He could catch a cold!", yelled Lily

The actual Calming Draught uses were: Bruce (Three bottles), James and Lily (two bottles each), Sirius, Remus and most females (One bottle each), Thor and Steve (half a bottle each) and Clint and Tony (each of them tried once)

**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger. Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys, would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now.**

"Hogwarts."

**Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did.**

"AND you´d be dead", said Ron. You could really see, Hermonie´s influence.

**Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be able to steal one somehow.**

"**Nope, got one that night."**

**Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea?**

**One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds… twenty… ten… nine — maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him.**

"DO IT!"

— **three… two… one…**

**BOOM.**

**The whole shack shivered and the siblings sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.**

Ron just remembered something: "Oh, Harry, the others wanted to wait until after the next Chapter. Although Percy might come earlier."

Harry nodded what confused Fred as he didn´t know of his brothers return yet. He looked at his twin who smirked knowingly.

Albus sighed: "I´m done, who wants to read next?"

Sirius jumped up and down. "I wanna!"

"No. Any chapter but the next one. You´d make all of us deaf", forbid Harry.

"I will", offered Steve who was rather quiet for quite a while.

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: If I own the Avengers or Harry Potter, Charlemange (spelling?) was the inventor of the internet.<strong>

**The usual, read, review, my poll, you get the idea.**

**~Marvelgeek42**


	5. The Keeper of the Keys

**Hello!**

**I took waaaaaaaay to long again, I know, but hey, I finished an other fic. And in the next weeks, I'll have lots of free days, so I have more time to work on my fics.**

**I have a 'Time Table' for my stories in my profile. If you wait for an update, check there, and you might see the reason.**

**Anyone interested in being beta?**

* * *

><p>"<strong>The Keeper of the Keys<strong>", Steve started.

"Isn't that -?", started James, but Harry interrupted him: "Yes, he is. Now, if you could be quiet?"

"Peace out, son."

"Peac-", started Tony.

"Seventies", Harry answered.

**They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake. "Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly.**

Regulus wondered: "Doesn't he say everything stupidly?", while everyone else (except Harry) yelled: "A CANNON!?"

"What's a cannon", Regulus wanted to know.

"It can be as deadly as the BEEEP BEEEEEP or as painful as the BEEEEP, brother", Sirius explained.

Regulus stared. Sirius hadn't called him brother in _years._

**There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands - now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.**

**"Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you - I'm armed!"**

"As if that would do anything to BEEEP", joked Sirius

Teddy glared at Harry: "Really Uncle Harry? BEEEP's name?"

"Every spoiler will be 'beeped' out. Example: In the seventh book, me and my friends are going to BEEP BEEEEP and BEEEP into both, the BEEEEEEP and BEEEEEEEP."

**There was a pause. Then – SMASH!**

"Ah", said Remus, "That's why Sirius shouldn't read".

Harry nodded.

**The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.**

"Strong guy"

**A giant of a man was standing in the doorway.**

**His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.**

"Isn't that the bloke from the first chapter?", asked Jubel

**The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.**

**"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey..."**

Everyone laughed.

"Well, that's BEEEP for you", said Ron

**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear.**

"Serves him right", muttered Lily I

**"Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger.**

**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.**

"That's like BEEEEP hiding behind BEEEEP hiding behind BEEEP", said Severus

**"An' here's Harry!" said the giant.**

**Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.**

**"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yet dad, but yeh've got yet mom's eyes."**

"If I'd lose a BEEP for every time I hear this, I'd be poor. Or, for those who don't understand, if Tony lost a cent every time someone said that to me, He'd be poor"

The non-magical adults stared at him.

Collin C. looked at Harry: "Err, Harry? What do you think of the idea that James Sirius, Albus, Lily Luna, Collin and me go somewhere else? I mean think about what happens in the books"

While Sirius, Remus, James and Lily paled, Harry nodded and casted a word- and wandless _Portus _on a random pen. "Kids, be good to him. If Collin doesn't complain later, and you won't force him not to, all of you get the toy you wish for most. Collin", both Collins looked towards Harry, "Collin form 1998, later all Weasley Children are coming, the ones older than ten can help you."

Collin C nodded, grapped the pen and as soon as the children also held onto the pen, there was a flash and they were gone."

Before anyone could ask questions, Steve started to read again.

**Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.**

"Doesn't he always?", asked Darcy.

„**I demand that you leave at once, sit!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!"**

"As if BEEEEP would care", snorted Teddy

**"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant; he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.**

"Can you two do this?", Betty asked Thor and Steve.

Both of them shrugged.

**Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.**

**"Anyway - Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here - I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."**

"Yeah, 'cause sitting on a cake is something that happens every day", Tonks

**From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Harry written on it in green icing.**

"The first cake I remember"

**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?"**

"At least you tried not to be rude", Pepper said, "Unlike a certain someone"

"Either people like me or not. Why should I care?"

**The giant chuckled.**

**"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts.**

"FINALLY!", exclaimed Teddy, "We can say Hogwarts and Hagrid without the 'BEEP'-thingy"

**He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm.**

**"What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together.**

**"I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."**

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he snorted.**

**He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there.**

"How did he do that?", the non-magical brainiacs wondered.

**It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he'd sunk into a hot bath.**

**The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea.**

"Big pockets"

**Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little.**

**Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."**

"As if Hagrid would give him something"

**The giant chuckled darkly.**

**"Yet great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry."**

**He passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful, but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."**

"See Tony", said Pepper, "THAT is ho you be polite.

"Again, why should I care what people think of me?"

**The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.**

**"Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts – yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course.**

**"Er - no," said Harry.**

**Hagrid looked shocked.**

**"Sorry," Harry said quickly.**

**"Sorry?" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It' s them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yet parents learned it all?"**

"All what?"

**"All what?" asked Harry.**

Insert chuckles.

**"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!"**

**He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut.**

**The Dursleys were cowering against the wall.**

Pepper stood up "I have to go do Tony's job."

"Wait, I'll help you, so that we can come back faster", said Betty

**"Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boy - this boy! - knows nothin' abou' - about ANYTHING?"**

**Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad.**

"Hey, look, Perce came fitting to marks", George said, pointing at the door.

**"I know some things," Harry said. "I can, you know, do math and stuff."**

**But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parents' world."**

"What world?"

**"What world?"**

"This is starting to get creepy..."

**Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode.**

**"DURSLEY!" he boomed.**

The people present in the room cheered.

**Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble." Hagrid stared wildly at Harry**

**"But yeh must know about yet mom and dad, Harry" he said. "I mean, they're famous. You're famous."**

"Great. I'm famous for dying. Why not for being a BEEEEEEEP star or an BEEEP?"

**"What? My - my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?"**

"You didn't even register he said you're famous to?"

"Nope"

**"Yeh don' know... yeh don' know..." Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare.**

**"Yeh don' know what yeh are?" he said finally.**

**Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.**

**"Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sit! I forbid you to tell the kids anything!"**

"Who do you think you are, that you intend to stop the heir of BEEEEEEEEP from entering Hogwarts?"

"I'm the heir of BEEEEEEEEP? I'm so doing a heritage test when we're finished."

**A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.**

**"You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?"**

**"Kept what from me?" said Harry eagerly while.**

**"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic.**

**Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.**

**"Ah, go boil yet heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry - yeh a wizard."**

"A WIZARD?!"

"Ah, so that is why", Bruce concluded something.

**There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.**

**"- a what?" gasped Harry.**

**"A wizard and a witch, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? And yeh such a smart girl, yeh´ll be good to"**

**An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."**

"Yes, please"

**Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea. He pulled out the letter and read:**

"They can make an adress out of everything."

"Here would probably be something like: Mr/Ms Example, Reading Room, S.H.I.E.L.D Heicarrier, whatever-city-we-are-closest-to"

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**_

_**Headmaster:**_

_**ALBUS DUMBLEDORE**_

_**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**_

_**Dear Mr. Potter,**_

_**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.**_

_**Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.**_

_**Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.**_

_**Yours sincerely,**_

_**Minerva McGonagall,**_

_**Deputy Headmistress**_

**Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes he stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?" **

"_That_ was your first question?"

"It was urgent, as my birthday is the 31st July

**"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse,**

**and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat**

**he pulled an owl - a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl –**

**a long quill, and a roll of parchment.**

**With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down:**

"That I call talent. I can read it when it's turned the normal way"

_**Dear Professor Dumbledore,**_

_**Given Harry his letter.**_

_**Taking him to buy his things tomorrow.**_

_**Weather's horrible.**_

_**Hope you're Well.**_

_**Hagrid**_

**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.**

"For us it is", Regulus said.

**Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly.**

**"Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.**

**"He's not going," he said.**

The wizards snorted.

**Hagrid grunted.**

**"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop them," he said.**

**"A what?" said Harry, interested.**

**"A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like thern. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."**

"I wonder, if he meant that literally or figuratively", Lily wondered

"Both."

**"We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!"**

**"You **_**knew**_**?" said Harry. "You **_**knew**_** I'm a - a wizard?"**

"Yes, yes she did. She's still my sister."

**"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that-that school-and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was - a freak!**

**But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"**

"There go all presents she was ever going to get from me. Naturally, my parents spend a lot of time with me in the holiday, I'm away most of the year!"

**She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.**

**"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you,**

**and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as - as - **_**abnormal**_** - and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"**

"THAT IS NO WAY TO TELL HIM!"

**Harry had gone very white. As soon as he found his voice he said, "Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!"**

**"CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!"**

"Really?"  
>"Yeah"<p>

**"But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently.**

**The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.**

**"I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh - but someone's gotta - yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."**

"Can you imagine that?", Fred asked him (older) twin laughing.

George answered: "It would have been hilarious."

**He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.**

**"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh - mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it..."**

**He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with - with a person called - but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows -"**

**"Who? "**

**"Well - I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."**

"At least they do now"

**"Why not?"**

**"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went... bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse.**

"Got that right."

**His name was..."**

**Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.**

**"Could you write it down?" Harry suggested.**

**"Nah -can't spell it. All right - Voldemort. "**

The wizards cheered (except Severus) "You got him to say the name!"

**Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this - this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too - some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches... terrible things happened.**

"And the understatement of the millnia awards goes to...RUBEUS HAGRID!"

**He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him - an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of.**

"And Harry"

"Yes, he was also afraid of Harry"

**Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway.**

"_Foreshadowing"_, Harry whispered.

**"Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day!**

"What drugs did Dumbledore take?"

"None."  
>"Did he go completely crazy than?"<br>"No"

"Can someone explain that conversation to me?"

"Nah"

**Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before...**

**probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.**

"Got that right!"

**"Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em... maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old.**

**He came ter yer house an' - an' -"**

Insert crying.

**Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn.**

**"Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad - knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find - anyway..."**

**"You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then - an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing - he tried to kill you, too.**

Harry used the same spell as on Aragog's funeral to refill the Claming Draught.

**Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then.**

'Actually he came just for me...', Harry thought.

**But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a Powerful, evil curse touches yeh - took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even - but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided te kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age - the McKinnons,**

"NO!", shouted Sirius, "NOT MARLENE!"

"His longest-ever girlfriend", James explained, "They are dating for six months. Well, in a week they are."

**the Bones, the Prewetts**

"NOT FABIAN AND GIDEON!", yelled te Marauders. The Prewett twins had inspired them to their first-ever prank.

**- an' you was only a baby, an' you lived."**

**Something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before - and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life: a high, cold, cruel laugh.**

"You-you remembered that?", Lily asked. Everyone was as pale as a ghost.

"I remembered. And more now, thanks to the BEEEEEEEP in BEEEEP year and BEEEEEEP in seventh."

**Hagrid was watching him sadly.**

**"Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot..."**

**"Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. Harry jumped; he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there.**

**Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.**

**"Now, you listen here, boy," he snarled, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured –**

The usage of Calming Draught increased again (and again and again)

**and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion - asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types - just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end -"**

"That's it", Clint said, "when that's over, I'll kill him and make it look like a heart attack from his whaleness."

**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley -I'm warning you - one more word... "**

**In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant,**

"BEEP-giant"

**Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.**

"That's how I like him most...I mean hate him least."

**"That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.**

**Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.**

"As always"

**"But what happened to Vol-, sorry - I mean, You-Know-Who?"**

**"Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see...he was gettin' more an' more powerful - why'd he go?**

'Albania', Harry thought.

**"Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die.**

"Foreshadowing", Ron muttered, barley hearable.

**Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don't reckon they could've done if he was comin' back.**

"Those -"

**"Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on.**

**'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry.**

"_Love", _Harry whispered in parseltounge.

**There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on - I dunno what it was, no one does - but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."**

**Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake.**

"I humbly present you, modest Harry"

**A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard?**

The growling wolves were back.

**If he'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?**

**"Hagrid," he said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard."**

"Says the most BEEEEEEP wizard since BEEEEP."

"I'm not the most BEEEEEEP wizard since BEEEEP."

"The Modesty price goes to...HARRY JAMES POTTER-BLACK!"

**To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled.**

**"Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?"**

**Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it... every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry...**

"Around 65 per month."

"THAT MEANS TWICE A DAY!"

**chased by Dudley's gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach... dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow back... and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him?**

"It sounds so awesome"

**Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him.**

**"See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard - you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."**

**But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight.**

"Of curse not"

**"Haven't I told you he's not going?" he hissed. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish - spell books and wands and -"**

**"If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter' s son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had Albus Dumbled-"**

**"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.**

"Big mistake there"

**But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER," he thundered, "- INSULT- ALBUS- DUMBLEDORE-IN- FRONT- OF- ME!"**

**He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley - there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.**

Silence.

"Can you read that again, Steve?", Tony asked.

**Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.**

Laughter. It took everyone about twenty minutes to calm down enough to read again.

**Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.**

Everyone applauded.

**Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.**

**"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."**

Laughter again.

**He cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows.**

**"Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm - er - not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff - one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job."**

**"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry.**

"You'll never know", Remus complained.

Sirius continued: "We've tried to learn it five years"

"Ron, 'Monie and I do."  
>"NO WAY", James protested.<p>

**"Oh, well - I was at Hogwarts meself but I - er - got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."**

**"Why were you expelled?"**

The Mauderers still looked torn between pride and jealousy towards Harry. (Pride won in the end.)

**"It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly.**

**"Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."**

**He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry.**

**"You can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets."**

"Who keeps mice in his pockets?"

"Hagrid."

"Should've seen that coming."

"Can I read now?"  
>"Yes, you can Sirius."<p>

"YAY!"

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: If I own anything even close to famous, Abraham Lincoln is the CURRENT American President.<strong>

**See you all!**

**~Marvelgeek42**


	6. Diagon Alley

**Hey,**

**OH. MY. GOSH! 40 Reviews, 174 Favourites, 224 Followers and 18,652 Views!**

**I finally have a beta *drumroll* Luke Amranvor! So, any mistakes can be blamed on him/her.**

* * *

><p>Sirius took the book and read: "<strong>Diagon Alley<strong>. I love this place."

Tony interrupted: "Wait, I have a question. Why does it seem like you, Harry, can understand these 'BEEP-thingies, but the other...magicals?...not?"

"I made the charm so that the caster can still understand what is said, when I invented it."

"YOU INVENTED A CHARM?!", all magical people from the past shouted, impressed (though Severus least).

"Yes", Harry answered.

The past people were stunned and the non-magicals confused.

Percy saw their confusion and explained: "The last time spells were invented, not rediscovered or modified but invented, was 1930 by Voldemort. Apart from this one and Harry's, no spell has been truly invented since 1732."

**Harry woke early the next morning. Although he could tell it was daylight, he kept his eyes shut tight.**

**"It was a dream, he told himself firmly."**

Clint taunted: "Pessimist"

"Live my life. After that you'd pessimistic too", Harry defended himself.

**I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards.**

"But that wasn't a dream"

"I know that now."

**When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard."**

**There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.**

"What was that?"

**And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door, Harry thought, his heart sinking. But he still didn't open his eyes. It had been such a good dream.**

"Even better, it's real!", the twins chorused.

Harry responded: "I know"

**Tap. Tap. Tap.**

**"All right," Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up."**

"FINALLY!", yelled Darcy, petting her teaser, "You being pessimistic got on my nerves"

**He sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off him. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.**

"...Owl post? Seriously?", Natasha asked, doubting.

"Yes, _Siriusly_", Sirius joked before continuing.

**Harry scrambled to his feet, so happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him.**

The pranksters chuckled.

**He went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat.**

"They don't do that in our time", Regulus observed.

Harry muttered: "Stupid BEEEEEEP."

**"Don't do that."**

"Won't do anything, mate", Ron commented.

**Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat.**

**"Hagrid!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl!"**

**"Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa.**

"He won't know how!" the Marauders and Lily protested.

"Why?" Bruce asked.

"They obviously have a different currency", Tony concluded-

"Exactly", Percy approved.

**"What?"**

**"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets."**

"But it's made of nothing but pockets!", the Marauders and the Weasley Twins protested.

**Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets**

"...Weird...", Teddy described.

**- bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags...finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.**

**"Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily.**

"Knuts?"

**"Knuts?"**

"Okay, stop doing that!"

**"The little bronze ones."**

**Harry counted out five little bronze coins and the owl held out his leg so Harry could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it.**

**Then he flew off through the open window.**

"I thought there was a storm that night. Why would a window be opened?", Bruce questioned.

**Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.**

**"Best be Off, Harry, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."**

"You can buy wizard-stuff in London?" Jane wanted to know.

The magical people (including Loki) nodded.

Harry elaborated: "In every bigger city, there are some hidden alleys. Here in New York, is 'Star Alley'."

**Harry was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. He had just thought of something that made him feel as though the happy balloon inside him had got a puncture.**

"NOT THE HAPPY BALLOON!", the pranksters protested.

**"Um - Hagrid?"**

**"Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.**

**"I haven't got any money - and you heard Uncle Vernon last night ... he won't pay for me to go and learn magic."**

Regulus disagreed, "But the Potters are one of the five richest families in magical Britain!"

**"Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"**

"Yeah. I couldn't even spend all our money until...1981...even if I'd buy myself a BEEEEP 1500 every month", James explained.

**"But if their house was destroyed -"**

**"They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts.**

**Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold - an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither."**

**"Wizards have banks?"**

"Of course we have banks", Severus lectured annoyed.

**"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins."**

"Goblins?"

**Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding.**

"You could have used it", Lily said concerned.

_**"Goblins?"**_

"That really needs to stop."

**"Yeah - so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that.**

Harry, Ron, Percy, and George snorted.

**Never mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe - 'cept maybe Hogwarts.**

"Yeah, really _safe _place."

**As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business."**

Remus facepalmed: "You don't simply say something like this in front of an eleven-year-old boy. Especially not a son of these two."

He pointed at Lily and James who whistled innocently.

**Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you, gettin' things from Gringotts - knows he can trust me, see.**

**"Got everythin'? Come on, then."**

**Harry followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.**

"How did Hagrid get there?", Tony asked.

**"How did you get here?" Harry asked,**

"Are you kidding me?"

**looking around for another boat.**

**"Flew," said Hagrid.**

"FLEW?!"

"He must have used my giant flying motorcycle."

"Nope. That would still be there."

_**"Flew?"**_

**"Yeah - but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh."**

"Why would he be forbidden the use of magic?", Thor asked.

"Spoilers!"

**They settled down in the boat, Harry still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying.**

**"Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving Harry another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter - er - speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?"**

**"Of course not," said Harry, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land.**

**"Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry asked.**

"Yeah, Harry, why?", George joked.

"I'm clearly missing a joke here. I don't like it.", Fred pouted.

**"Spells - enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the highsecurity vaults.**

"Are there?", the people who never were down there asked.

"There are", Regulus, James, Teddy, Tonks, Harry and Sirius answered.

**And then yeh gotta find yer way - Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat."**

"Would you, Ron?"

**Harry sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper**_**, the Daily Prophet**_**. Harry had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, he'd never had so many questions in his life.**

**"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page.**

"Nothing new there", Tonks and Fred snorted.

"The current Minister is cool."

**"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself.**

**"'Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o'course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job.**

"Why? That's like me getting the job!"

**- Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice."**

"Not during BEEEP year."

**"But what does a Ministry of Magic do?"**

"Nothing."  
>"At least at this point of time."<p>

**"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."**

**"Why?"**

**"Why? Blimey, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone."**

"And don't forget Salem."

**At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street.**

**Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station.**

"I can imagine", Darcy giggled.

**Harry couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Harry? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?"**

"You don't say words like 'Muggle' in front of muggles who have no knowledge of our world"

**"Hagrid," said Harry, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, "did you say there are dragons at Gringotts?"**

**"Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon."**

The non-magicals looked panicked: "He'd LIKE a dragon?!"

**"You'd like one?"**

"That is really creepy right now."

**"Wanted one ever since I was a kid - here we go."**

Harry and Ron exchanged knowing looks.

"Hey, look, Charlie is coming for dragons."

"Really funny, Fred."

"I know, right?"

**They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Harry so he could buy their tickets.**

"The numbers are printed on it. It's not really difficult."

**People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.**

"I saw that later. It was a blanket for a certain dog."

"Fang?"  
>"Yeah, Fang, let's go with that."<p>

"Who names a dog 'Fang'?"

"Hagrid is strange in that matter. Should you ever come in a situation where he wants to introduce you to his pets, pick the one with the most aggressive name. Trust me on this."

**"Still got yer letter, Harry?" he asked as he counted stitches. Harry took the parchment envelope out of his pocket.**

**"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need."**

**Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn't noticed the night before, and read:**

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**_

_**UNIFORM**_

_**First-year students will require:**_

_**1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)**_

_**One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear**_

"Nobody wears that anyway."

"It's a tradition in place since-"

"Perce, little bro, no one cares."

_**3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)**_

_**4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)**_

_**Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags**_

_**COURSE BOOKS**_

"Oh, we get a look what changed."

_**All students should have a copy of each of the following:**_

_**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk**_

"Same"

_**A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot**_

"Same."

"I know her."

"You do, P-err James?"

"Yeah, she lives in Godric's Hallow"

_**Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling**_

"That's new."

_**A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch**_

"Same."

"That means Minnie's still there!"  
>"Yeah, Pa-Sirius"<p>

_**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore**_

"Same."

_**Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger**_

"That's new."

"That means BEEEEEEP is gone."

_**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander**_

"But you don't even have BEEP of BEEEEEP BEEEEEEEP yet."

_**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble**_

_**OTHER EQUIPMENT**_

_**1 wand**_

"No, really!"

_**1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)**_

_**1 set glass or crystal phials**_

_**1 telescope set**_

_**1 brass scales**_

_**Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad**_

"OR a stupid rat of a BEEEEEP"

_**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS**_

"I hated that rule."  
>"I KNOW! BOTH OF YOU COMPLAINED LIKE EVERY DAY!"<p>

**"Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud.**

**"If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid.**

**Harry had never been to London before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow.**

**"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops.**

**Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harry had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people.**

**Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks? Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up?**

"Nah, they're WAY too boring for that, right Gred?"

"Yes, Forge."

**If Harry hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humor, he might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told him so far was unbelievable, Harry couldn't help trusting him.**

"You'd trust so many people."  
>"I have not been wrong often, have I?"<p>

**"This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."**

**It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Harry wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it.**

"That's because the muggles can't"

"Wait, what?"

"We'll just leave it, for now, okay? Okay."

**Before he could mention this, Hagrid had steered him inside.**

**For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe.**

**A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut.**

"Aren't all walnuts toothless?"

"Does that really matter?"

**The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"**

**"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on Harry's shoulder and making Harry's knees buckle.**

"Oh, he did not."

**"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this - can this be -?"**

**The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.**

"Enter: HARRY FREAKING POTTER"

**"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter... what an honor."**

**He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Harry and seized his hand, tears in his eyes.**

**"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back."**

"Have you been there before?"

"Not that I know, but maybe."

**Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at him. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out.**

**Hagrid was beaming.**

"Why?"

**Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.**

"That's so annoying", Tony said, surprising everyone who knew him.

**"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."**

**"So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud."**

**"Always wanted to shake your hand - I'm all of a flutter."**

**"Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."**

**"I've seen you before!" said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop."**

Jubel kissed Steve on the neck and stood up.

"I'm sorry, gotta go, Jean called, have to go to the X-Men. I'll come back ASAP."

**"He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? He remembers me!" Harry shook hands again and again - Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.**

**A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.**

"I totally forgot about seeing him there."

"It would have saved us some time."

**"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."**

**"P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p- pleased I am to meet you."**

"He already annoys me. Must be a record. One sentence, spoken years before I hear it."

**"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?"**

**"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts,"**

"...But he was muggle studies Professor", Charlie said with Tonks agreeing.

"How much have you and Ginny told you family?"

"Not much"

**muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it.**

**"N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought.**

Harry and Ron snorted.

**But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.**

**"Must get on - lots ter buy. Come on, Harry."**

**Doris Crockford shook Harry's hand one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.**

"Stunning."

"That can't be all."

Bruce and Tony grinned at each other and chorused: "Elementary, my dear Barton, it has to be some sort of hidden entrance,"

**Hagrid grinned at Harry.**

**"Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh - mind you, he's usually tremblin'."**

**"Is he always that nervous?"**

**"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience... They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag**

"That was neither vampires nor a hag."

**-never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject now,**

"So why does he teach?"

**where's me umbrella?"**

"What has that got to do with anything?"

Ron grinned: "42"

"What?"

"42"

"Don't mind him, his wife just made him read that book."

**Vampires? Hags? Harry's head was swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.**

**"Three up... two across he muttered. "Right, stand back, Harry."**

**He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.**

**The brick he had touched quivered - it wriggled - in the middle, a small hole appeared - it grew wider and wider - a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.**

**"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."**

"Now _that_ is impressive"

**He grinned at Harry's amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.**

"Oh, and that too", Clint added to his previous statement.

**The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop.**

**Cauldrons - All Sizes - Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver - Self-Stirring - Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.**

"That was the first thing you noticed?", Severus asked stunned. He would never have thought, that Potter's son. _But he's Lily's son too, isn't he?_, a voice in the back of his head said. _Shut up,_ Severus replied.

**"Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first."**

**Harry wished he had about eight more eyes.**

Ron shuddered. "Spiders."

"He has arachnophobia."

"So we don't introduce him to Spiderman?"

**He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they're mad..."**

"Why not just say a BEEEEEP?"

"I dunno."

"Was that Mom?"

"Yeah, I think so."

**A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium - Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy.**

"_Hedwig"_, Harry muttered in Parsel.

**There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon...**

**"Gringotts," said Hagrid.**

**They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold,**

"BEEEEEEEEP goblins."

"Yeah, whatever, read on, Siri."

"Don't call me Siri."

**was - "Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry.**

"Really small then?"

**He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:**

_**Enter, stranger, but take heed**_

_**Of what awaits the sin of greed,**_

_**For those who take, but do not earn,**_

_**Must pay most dearly in their turn.**_

_**So if you seek beneath our floors**_

_**A treasure that was never yours,**_

_**Thief, you have been warned, beware**_

_**Of finding more than treasure there.**_

"I love that poem", Remus, Percy and Lily said

"I don't", Harry and Ron replied.

**"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.**

**A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall.**

**About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses.**

**There were too many doors to count leading off the hall,**

**and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and Harry made for the counter.**

**"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe."**

**"You have his key, Sir?"**

**"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid,**

"Why does he have it?"

"Better him than Vermin and my bitchy sister."

"True that"

**and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harry watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.**

**"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.**

**The goblin looked at it closely.**

**"That seems to be in order."**

**"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."**

"HAGRID!"

**The goblin read the letter carefully.**

**"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"**

**Griphook was yet another goblin.**

"No, really?"

"Cut it, Black, and read on"

"You can't order me around, Snape"

"Siri, would you please be so nice to continue reading?"

"Of course, Reggie"

**Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.**

**"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked.**

"Knew it", Remus reminded everyone.

**"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."**

**Griphook held the door open for them. Harry, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches.**

**It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in - Hagrid with some difficulty - and were off.**

"Like a roller coaster."

"Cool!"

**At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible.**

"Impressive, I can't even remember that much an I work there for years."

"BILL!"

**The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.**

**Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late - - they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.**

**I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"**

"Well, that's obvious -", Tony started, but Sirius interrupted

**"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid.**

"That's one way to explain it, I guess", Tony laughed.

**"An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."**

**He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.**

**Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.**

"...wow"

**"All yours," smiled Hagrid.**

**All Harry's - it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster than blinking.**

"They wouldn't dare to enter Gringotts."

**How often had they complained how much Harry cost them to keep? And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under London.**

**Hagrid helped Harry pile some of it into a bag.**

**"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough.**

"Not really", the non-magicals and Loki protested.

**Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"**

**"One speed only," said Griphook.**

**They were going even deeper now and gathering speed.**

"I thought one speed only?"

"Yes but though the falling -"

"Read on, I don't want a lesson in physics."

**The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck.**

**Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.**

**"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.**

**"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.**

**"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked.**

**"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.**

"Cruel"

**Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Harry was sure, and he leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least – but at first he thought it was empty. Then he noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Harry longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.**

Ron poked Harry.

"You sure that's you?"

**"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.**

**One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Harry didn't know where to run first now that he had a bag full of money. He didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound – to know that he was holding more money than he'd had in his whole life - more money than even Dudley had ever had.**

"In your face, Vermin"

**"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so Harry entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous.**

**Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.**

**"Hogwarts, clear?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here - another young man being fitted up just now, in fact. "**

**In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes.**

"Sounds like a BEEEEP"

"Maybe because he is one?"

**Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him) slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length.**

**"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"**

**"Yes," said Harry.**

**"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice.**

**"Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."**

**Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley.**

"Me too."

"He would be ashamed at that point."  
>"Who the boy or Dudley?"<p>

"Both. Strangely enough, they're friends now."

"...I don't understand the future."

**"Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on.**

**"No," said Harry.**

**"Play Quidditch at all?"**

**"No," Harry said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.**

The Quidditch nuts (James, the Weasleys (not Percy) and the Blacks) pretended to faint.

**"I do - Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"**

"No one knows."

**"No," said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute.**

**"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been - imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"**

"OI!", Teddy and Tonks protested.

**"Mmm," said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting.**

**"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.**

**"That's Hagrid," said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts."**

**"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"**

"Is he really that -?"  
>"No, he was just repeating what his father said."<p>

**"He's the gamekeeper," said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second.**

**"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage –**

**lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."**

"That was my fault", Sirius admitted.

**"I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly.**

**"Do you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"**

**"They're dead," said Harry shortly.**

James and Lily flinched at the reminder.

**He didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy.**

**"Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all. "But they were our kind, weren't they?"**

**"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."**

"Diplomatic"

**"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"**

"Why does that matter anyways?", Bruce asked, but he was ignored by those who knew the answer.

**But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool.**

**"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy.**

"Or on the BEEEP...Really, Harry? Really?"

"Yup"

**Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought him (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).**

"My favorite", Lily and James chorused.

"That explains why he got that flavor."

**"What's up?" said Hagrid.**

**"Nothing," Harry lied.**

**They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote.**

**When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"**

"Yeah, what's Kwidditch?"

"Quidditch. Q-U-I-D-D-I-T-C-H. I'll be in the book. Soon."

**"Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know - not knowin' about Quidditch!"**

"THAT WOULD BE A SCANDAL!", James shouted.

**"Don't make me feel worse," said Harry.**

**He told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's.**

**"-and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in."**

**"Yer not from a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh were - he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles - look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"**

"Perfect example."

**"So what is Quidditch?"**

**"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like - like soccer in the Muggle world - everyone follows Quidditch - played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls - sorta hard ter explain the rules."**

**"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"**

**"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but -"**

"OI!"

**"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff" said Harry gloomily.**

**"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin.**

"Lies!"

"Oh, yeah, name one Gryffindor."

"BEEEP BEEEEEEEP"

**You-Know-Who was one."**

"That however is true."

**"Vol-, sorry - You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?"**

**"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid.**

"At the BEEP BEEP as BEEEEP."

**They bought Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these.**

"That's a praise, if I ever heard one."

"So he still doesn't read?"

"Not, when he can avoid it."

**Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue- Tying and Much, Much More) by Professor Vindictus Viridian.**

**"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley."**

"Atta boy...not weird at all..."

**"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."**

"Not my wife."

"She's rubbing off on you. You avoided the 'BEEP'."

"What? YEAH!"

**Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"),**

**but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling.**

**While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Harry, Harry himself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).**

**Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Harry's list again.**

**"Just yer wand left**

"Better not forget that"

**- A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present."**

**Harry felt himself go red.**

**"You don't have to -"**

**"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at - an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'."**

**Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing.**

"She flew on my shoulder when we entered the shop and refused to leave."

**He couldn't stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell.**

"I take that back!"

**"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now - only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."**

**A magic wand... this was what Harry had been really looking forward to.**

"Everyone does."

**The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.**

**A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.**

"Whose wand is that?"

"No one really knows. It's a different story every time."

**A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Harry felt strangely as though he had entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.**

"You felt that?"

"Yeah? And?"

"You are either really modest, rather uneducated or both."

"Modest"

**"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair.**

**An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.**

**"Hello," said Harry awkwardly.**

**"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."**

"He remembered me?"

"Ollivander remembers everyone."

**Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.**

**"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it - it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."**

**Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes.**

**"And that's where..."**

**Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger.**

"Creeper."

**"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly.**

**"Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do..."**

**He shook his head and then, to Harry's relief, spotted Hagrid.**

**"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again... Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"**

**"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.**

**"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.**

**"Er - yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.**

**"But you don't use them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.**

**"Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.**

"No, of course not-"

"and they're definitely not in the umbrella-"

"How dare you to think that?!"

**"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now - Mr. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"**

**"Er - well, I'm right-handed," said Harry.**

**"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."**

"I'm sorry, Ron, I didn't know."

"It doesn't matter."

**Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.**

**"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave."**

**Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.**

**"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try -"**

**Harry tried - but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.**

**"No, no -here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."**

**Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.**

"How many did you try?"  
>"Dunno. Lost count after 130."<p>

"Modesty in person."

**"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere - I wonder, now - - yes, why not - unusual combination - holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."**

**Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers.**

**He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls.**

**Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well... how curious... how very curious... "**

"What?"

"What's curious?"

**He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious... curious..**

**"Sorry," said Harry, "but what's curious?"**

**Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.**

**"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather - just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother why, its brother gave you that scar."**

**Harry swallowed.**

**"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter... After all, He- Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things - terrible, yes, but great."**

"Did he just compliment Voldyshorts?"

"Nah, he complimented the magic."

**Harry shivered. He wasn't sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.**

**The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. Harry didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; he didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the snowy owl asleep in its cage on Harry's lap. Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Harry only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped him on the shoulder.**

**"Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said.**

"Yes, yes, you need to at least eat before you go back to Vermin and company."

**He bought Harry a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow.**

**"You all right, Harry? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid.**

**Harry wasn't sure he could explain. He'd just had the best birthday of his life - and yet - he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words.**

**"Everyone thinks I'm special," he said at last. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander... but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry - I mean, the night my parents died."**

"_I do now."_

"A typical Harry Potter thought!"

**Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile.**

**"Don' you worry, Harry. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts - I did - still do, 'smatter of fact."**

"That was nice."

**Hagrid helped Harry on to the train that would take him back to the Dursleys, then handed him an envelope.**

**"Yer ticket fer Hogwarts, " he said. "First o' September - King's Cross - it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me... See yeh soon, Harry."**

**The train pulled out of the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hagrid had gone.**

"Finished."

"I'll continue", Jane volunteered.

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: I do not own anything, unless Captain America was real. What he isn't. <strong>

**~Marvelgeek42**


	7. The Journey from Platform 9 34

**Hello!  
>A few things before I start. First: Thanks again to my beta, Luke Amranvor<strong>

**Second: While I re-read this fic, I noticed a plot hole (which I cleared dircetly below). If you notice more please tell me, so that can fill them**

**Third: I finally have summer holidays and I made it one of my priorities (next to thigns like read as much as possible) to get on wthh this fic. If everything goes as planned, I might reach 'Qudditch' before the end of September! But don't think that's a promise, I have no clue what my Mom has planned**

**Fourth: 50 Reviews, 188 Favorites, 259 ****Followers and - I cannot believe it - 24,595 views! Thanks to each and every one of you!**

* * *

><p>When Jane was just about to start, Tony noticed something.<p>

"Hey, why are the chairs pink?"

Harry laughed: "Lily, I mean my daughter Lily, turned the chairs pink in the second Chapter! And you just noticed now!"

Everyone else blushed, while Harry did a silent 'Finite Incantatum'

"**The Journey From Platform Nine and Three-Quarters**", Jane read.

**Harry's last month with the Dursleys wasn't fun.**

"Was it anytime?", inquired Darcy.

Harry shook his head.

**True, Dudley was now so scared of Harry he wouldn't stay in the same room,**

"Not anymore!", informed Harry.

**while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't shut Harry in his cupboard, force him to do anything, or shout at him — in fact, they didn't speak to him at all.**

"Sounds good", James declared

Lily protested: "He'll get lonely."

**Half terrified, half furious, they acted as though any chair with Harry in it were empty. Although this was an improvement in many ways, it did become a bit depressing after a while.**

"See?" Lily asked.

**Harry kept to his room, with his new owl for company.**

"Hedwig", muttered Harry.

**He had decided to call her Hedwig, a name he had found in A History of Magic.**

The non-brainiacs gasped at him and Ron muttered: "Don't tell Monie."

**His school books were very interesting.**

The people repeated their actions and a few (the twins, Sirius and James) pretended to faint.

**He lay on his bed reading late into the night,**

Even more people pretended to faint.

"Oh, stop it", Natasha threatened.

"I'd listen", Clint advised.

**Hedwig swooping in and out of the open window as she pleased. It was lucky that Aunt Petunia didn't come in to vacuum anymore, because Hedwig kept bringing back dead mice. Every night before he went to sleep, Harry ticked off another day on the piece of paper he had pinned to the wall, counting down to September the first.**

"I did that too!" admitted Hermonie, Severus, Sirius, Lily and Regulus.

"Wait...you did?" questioned Sirius.

Regulus nodded.

"Why? I thought -"

"Let's just go on."

**On the last day of August he thought he'd better speak to his aunt and uncle about getting to King's Cross station the next day,**

"A bit late, don't you think?", Lily wanted to know.

"Less times for them to change their mind." Harry said.

"Makes sense I guess", Remus added nodding, "but what if they said no?"

"I dunno. I would have taken the bus. Or I might have accidentally apparated again. And let's be honest", Harry snorted, "Someone would have checked why I didn't arrive. Me being famous and all."

**so he went down to the living room where they were watching a quiz show on television. He cleared his throat to let them know he was there, and Dudley screamed and ran from the room.**

This room was filled with laughter.

"**Er — Uncle Vernon?" **

**Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening.**

"His ability to articulate himself is practically screaming for jealousy", Tony said.

"**Er — I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to — to go to Hogwarts." **

**Uncle Vernon grunted again. **

"**Would it be all right if you gave me a lift?" **

**Grunt. Harry supposed that meant yes.**

"I didn't know you could speak BEEEP, mate", Ron chuckled.

"**Thank you." **

**He was about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon actually spoke.**

"I'm amazed", Jane interrupted herself.

"**Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?"**

"Actually they're illegal since the -"

"Perce. We don't care", Charlie stopped his brother's explanation.

**Harry didn't say anything. **

"**Where is this school, anyway?"**

"In Scotland", chorused Remus, Percy and Hermonie.

The last one stood in the doorway, together with 15 other people.

Four of them ran into the room and hugged Fred.

"Who are you?", Natasha asked.

"Let me introduce them", Harry said, pointing at everyone while introducing them,"This are Hermonie Weasley nee Granger, Arthur and Molly Weasley, Ginny Potter nee Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Scarmander nee Lovegood, Fleur Weasley nee Delacour, Lee Weasley-Jordan, Angelina Weasley nee Johnson, Audrey Weasley nee Simmons, Alicia and Dudley Dursley, Astoria and Draco Malfoy and Katie and Oliver Wood. I assume, Hannah and Rolf are either working o with the children?"

Luna and Neville nodded.

"Jane, you can continue", instructed Harry

"**I don't know," said Harry, realizing this for the first time. He pulled the ticket Hagrid had given him out of his pocket.**

"You are going to read the platform number out, aren't you?", groaned Ginny and Hemonie.

Harry defended himself: "I was eleven!"

"**I just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock," he read. **

**His aunt and uncle stared. **

"**Platform what?"**

"Nine and three-Quarters, can't you hear, you idiots?", growled Lily and the Marauders.

"**Nine and three-quarters."**

"**Don't talk rubbish," said Uncle Vernon. "There is no platform nine and three-quarters." **

"There is. It's just hidden!" Regulus ranted, "We can't exactly let a magical train collect magical children for a magical school while keeping the magical world secret without some hiding."

"And Petunia knows this", Lily added, "She has been with me and our parents every years so far."

"**It's on my ticket." **

"**Barking mad"**

"OI!", Sirius protested and everyone who knew why laughed. The rest looked confused.

**said Uncle Vernon, "howling**

"OI!",Remus protested and everyone who knew why laughed.

"Could someone please explain to me"; Bruce inquired, "why you are laughing?"

"We couldn't, even if we wanted to", James answered.

**mad, the lot of them. You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you to King's Cross. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother."**

Clint commented: "Well, that's...nice I suppose...by his standards."

"**Why are you going to London?" Harry asked, trying to keep things friendly.**

Dudley began to blush.

"**Taking Dudley to the hospital," growled Uncle Vernon. "Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings."**

Most people (everyone but Alicia, Dudley and Harry) laughed for like ten minutes."  
>"I...totally...forgot...about...the...tail!", Tonks said between fits of laughter.<p>

**Harry woke at five o'clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep.**

"Same", agreed everyone who went to Hogwarts.

**He got up and pulled on his jeans because he didn't want to walk into the station in his wizard's robes**

"Didn't Peter do that?", asked Sirius.

"As did we", answered Regulus

"Well, excuse me, but our parents are stupid BEEEEEEEP idiots and refuse to acknowledge any muggle BEEEP or BEEEEEEEP ever. So we had no choice. But Peter is a half-blood."

**he'd change on the train. He checked his Hogwarts list yet again to make sure he had everything he needed,**

"You mean packed, didn't you? Not like if you forgot to buy something?" Lily panicked.

"I meant packed, yes."

**saw that Hedwig was shut safely in her cage, and then paced the room, waiting for the Dursleys to get up. Two hours later, Harry's huge, heavy trunk had been loaded into the Dursleys' car, Aunt Petunia had talked Dudley into sitting next to Harry, and they had set off.**

"One of them could have stayed home and saved us from that tantrum eleven-year-old me held."

**They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped Harry's trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for him. Harry thought this was strangely kind until Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face.**

"What's up with him?" everyone thought/asked.

"**Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine — platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?" **

**He was quite right, of course.**

"No, he isn't", the wizards and witches protested.

**There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.**

"That's what you think", the twins chorused.

"**Have a good term," said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile. He left without another word. Harry turned and saw the Dursleys drive away. All three of them were laughing.**

"I never apologized for that. I'm sorry."  
>"It's in the past. I've forgiven you while ago."<p>

**Harry's mouth went rather dry. What on earth was he going to do? He was starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig. He'd have to ask someone.**

"NO! They'll just think you're stupid or something."

**He stopped a passing guard, but didn't dare mention platform nine and three-quarters.**

Lily sighed: "At least there's that."

**The guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when Harry couldn't even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started to get annoyed, as though Harry was being stupid on purpose.**

"Why doesn't someone just wait there on September 1st? Like a guy holding a sign Hogwarts, so that muggle raised children know where to go? If anyone asked, this guy could tell, that he's waiting for a group of students", Bruce provided.

"That's actually not a bad idea", Hermonie accepted the idea.

**Getting desperate, Harry asked for the train that left at eleven o'clock, but the guard said there wasn't one. In the end the guard strode away, muttering about time wasters. Harry was now trying hard not to panic. According to the large clock over the arrivals board, he had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and he had no idea how to do it; he was stranded in the middle of a station with a trunk he could hardly lift, a pocket full of wizard money, and a large owl.**

"What would have happened if you missed the train?" Steve asked interested.

"Well, someone would have noticed I am missing and come get me. Or I would have written a letter and send it with Hedwig."

**Hagrid must have forgotten to tell him something you had to do,**

"Yes, that he did", James voiced his thoughts.

**like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley. He wondered if he should get out his wand and start tapping the ticket inspector's stand between platforms nine and ten.**

"Don't do that", Percy advised.

**At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and he caught a few words of what they were saying. **

"— **packed with Muggles, of course —" **

"You've found wizards. You're good", Lily let out the air she was holding.

**Harry swung round. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair.**

"It's us!" chorused the Weasleys.

**Each of them was pushing a trunk like Harry's in front of him — and they had an owl. **

**Heart hammering, Harry pushed his cart after them. They stopped and so did he, just near enough to hear what they were saying. **

"**Now, what's the platform number?" said the boys' mother.**

"You mean you honestly didn't know?" asked Hermonie.

"It was the stress", said a blushing Molly Weasley.

"**Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand, "Mom, can't I go…" **

"You were so sweet!" teased the twins.

"**You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first." **

**What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten. Harry watched, careful not to blink in case he missed it — but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the boy had vanished. **

"Typical", commented Ron, Ginny and Hermonie

"**Fred, you next," the plump woman said. **

"**I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?" **

"I like these two", all other pranksters commented laughing.

"**Sorry, George, dear." **

"**Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy, and off he went. His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone — but how had he done it?**

"That's what I'd like to know", Tony, Bruce and Jane muttered.

**Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier he was almost there — and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere. **

**There was nothing else for it. **

"**Excuse me," Harry said to the plump woman. **

"**Hello, dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too."**

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley", Lily said.

"It was nothing. And please, call me Molly."

**She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose. **

"**Yes," said Harry. "The thing is — the thing is, I don't know how to —" **

"**How to get onto the platform?" she said kindly, and Harry nodded. **

"**Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron." **

"**Er — okay," said Harry. **

**He pushed his trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid. **

"That's because it is solid for muggles. At least muggles who don't touch a wizard or witch", Hermonie explained.

**He started to walk toward it. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten. Harry walked more quickly. He was going to smash right into that barrier and then he'd be in trouble — leaning forward on his cart, he broke into a heavy run — the barrier was coming nearer and nearer — he wouldn't be able to stop — the cart was out of control — he was a foot away — he closed his eyes ready for the crash — **

The magical people smiled.

**It didn't come… he kept on running… he opened his eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts' Express, eleven o'clock. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it, He had done it. **

The pranksters cheered and the non-magical people looked stunned.

**Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks. **

The non-magical had a expression on their face that showed 'I want to see this.' Except for Natasha.

**The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats.**

Lily sobbed in James chest: "We should have been with him."

"It's okay."

**Harry pushed his cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat. He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again." **

Neville looked down embarrassed.

"**Oh, Neville," he heard the old woman sigh. **

**A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd. **

"LEE!" shouted the twins

"**Give us a look, Lee, go on." **

**The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg. **

Ron shuddered.

**Harry pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train. He put Hedwig inside first and then started to shove and heave his trunk toward the train door. He tried to lift it up the steps but could hardly raise one end and twice he dropped it painfully on his foot. **

"How did you get it inside the train then?" Charlie inquired.

"**Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins he'd followed through the barrier. **

"NO WAY!" protested the Weasley siblings jokingly. The twins pouted.

"It was George", Harry said.

The magical people except Loki looked at him.

"You could keep us apart back then?", the twins chorused.

Harry nodded.

"**Yes, please," Harry panted. **

"**Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!" **

"That's how I first was able to tell them apart.

**With the twins' help, Harry's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment. **

"**Thanks," said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes. **

"**What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar. **

"**Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you —?" **

"**He is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Harry. **

"**What?" said Harry. **

"**Harry Potter." chorused the twins. **

"**Oh, him," said Harry. "I mean, yes, I am." **

Everyone laughed.

"'Oh him' really?" Ron mocked.

"I wasn't used to people knowing me. Or hearing my name", Harry muttered the last part barely audible, but Remus, Bruce, Steve, Loki and Thor still heard him.

**The two boys gawked at him, and Harry felt himself turning red. Then, to his relief, a voice came floating in through the train's open door. **

"**Fred? George? Are you there?" **

"**Coming, Mom." **

**With a last look at Harry, the twins hopped off the train. **

**Harry sat down next to the window where, half hidden, he could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying. Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief. **

Ginny teased: "Spying, aren't you?"  
>"I had to practice sometime."<p>

"**Ron, you've got something on your nose." **

**The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose. **

"**Mom— geroff" He wriggled free. **

"Social Suicide", moaned everyone who had experience with this, Tony and Loki included.

"**Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins. **

"**Shut up," said Ron. **

"**Where's Percy?" said their mother. **

"**He's coming now." **

**The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Harry noticed a red and gold badge on his chest with the letter P on it. **

"**Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front; the prefects have got two compartments to themselves —" **

Percy groaned at how arrogant he sounded.

"**Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea." **

"Really", Bill and Charlie said skeptically. That didn't sound like past Percy.

"**Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once —" **

"**Or twice —" **

"**A minute —" **

"**All summer —" **

"Ah, it was a joke. Should have noticed that."

"**Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect. **

"**How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins. **

"**Because he's a prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term — send me an owl when you get there." **

**She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins. **

"**Now, you two — this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've — you've blown up a toilet or —" **

"Never give pranksters ideas. I'm speaking from experience", advised Lily, Molly and Ginny.

"**Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet." **

"**Great idea though, thanks, Mom." **

"**It's not funny. And look after Ron." **

"**Don't worry; ickle Ronniekins is safe with us." **

"**Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it. **

"And you couldn't have told me that?"

"**Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?" **

**Harry leaned back quickly so they couldn't see him looking. **

"**You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?" **

"**Who?" **

"**Harry Potter!" **

**Harry heard the little girl's voice. **

"**Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see him, Mom, oh please…" **

Ginny blushed.

"I thought it was sweet."

"**You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?" **

"**Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there — like lightning." **

"**Poor dear — no wonder he was alone, I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform." **

"Thank you Molly", said James.

"**Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?" **

**Their mother suddenly became very stern. **

"**I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school." **

"Thanks again!", Lily thanked Molly.

"**All right, keep your hair on." **

**A whistle sounded. **

"**Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry. **

"**Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls."**

"**We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat." **

"I never got that."

"**George!" **

"Actually that was Fred."

"**Only joking, Mom." **

**The train began to move. Harry saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved. **

Her children (including Harry and Hermonie who were basically adopted) and her husband smiled fondly at Molly.

**Harry watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know what he was going to — but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind. **

**The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest redheaded boy came in. **

"So that's how you three became friends", Charlie asked.

The Golden Trio looked at each other.

"No...just how me and Ron became friends."

"**Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full." **

"Or everywhere where I looked", Ron said, sensing an argument from Remus, Hermonie or Percy, "This compartment was the emptiest and I thought he looked lonely."

Molly looked proud of this statement.

**Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked. Harry saw he still had a black mark on his nose. **

"Still pissed you didn't tell me."

"**Hey, Ron." **

**The twins were back. **

"**Listen, we're going down the middle of the train — Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there." **

Ron shuddered.

"**Right," mumbled Ron. **

"You reacted harder to spiders now than when you were eleven. Why?", Tony asked.

Ron and Harry looked at each other and chorused: "Second year"

"**Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then." **

"**Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them. **

"**Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out. **

**Harry nodded. **

"Awkward conversation ahead", warned Ron and Harry.

"That's our thing!"

"**Oh — well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got — you know…" **

**He pointed at Harry's forehead. **

**Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared. **

"**So that's where You-Know-Who —?" **

"**Yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it." **

"**Nothing?" said Ron eagerly. **

"RON! I told you not to ask."

"Technically you only told Fred and George."

"**Well — I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else." **

"**Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again. **

"**Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him. **

"Really?" asked Ron.  
>"You were the first magical person in my age I met except Draco who -" Harry informed Ron.<br>"I was a big asshole at that time." Draco said.

"**Er — Yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him." **

"Why not?" Bruce asked.

"He's bitter that he can't do magic."

"**So you must know loads of magic already." **

**The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about. **

"Not exactly." said Molly.

"**I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?" **

"**Horrible — well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers." **

"**Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy.**

"What?" wondered everyone but Hermonie, Harry and Ron.

"**I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left — Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat." **

"I never knew that", whispered Molly.

"Why didn't you tell us?!" asked Ron's siblings

**Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep. **

Everyone who knew growled. The rest wondered why so many people growled at a rat.

"**His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff — I mean, I got Scabbers instead." **

**Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window. **

**Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. After all, he'd never had any money in his life until a month ago, and he told Ron so, all about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. This seemed to cheer Ron up.**

"He told it as if the Dursleys had not much money too!" Ron defended himself.

"… **and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort —" **

**Ron gasped. **

"**What?" said Harry. **

"**You said You-Know-Who's name!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people —" **

"**I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," said Harry, "I just never knew you shouldn't.**

"And still don't"

"Yeah, we got it Harry", Lee said, "You told us often enough in BEEEP year with that stupid BEEP."

**See what I mean? I've got loads to learn… I bet," he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class." **

"Actually you were what? Fourth? Fifth? Sixth? And I knew you were holding back."

"**You won't be. There're loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough." **

"Cough, Hermonie, cough", said the twins, Ron and Harry.

**While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past. **

**Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?" **

**Harry, who hadn't had any breakfast,**

"When was the last time you ate at that point?", the Weasleys (including married), Marauders and Lily asked threateningly.

"Two days prior."

Everyone could be heard growling again.

Harry noticed the nearly empty cauldron of Calming Draught and said: "How about we take a break after this Chapter?"

Everybody nodded agreeing.

**leapt to his feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry went out into the corridor. **

**He had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars**

"What's that?" Arthur wanted to know.

"Chocolate", answered Regulus and Remus.

Sirius laughed: "Trust them to know about chocolate."

**as he could carry — but the woman didn't have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts. **

"That's a lot for candy", Lily scolded.

"Actually Ron ate most of it."

**Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat. **

"**Hungry, are you?" **

"**Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty. **

**Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef..." **

"**Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on —" **

"That was really nice of you, Harry"

"It's nothing

"**You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us." **

"**Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron; eating their way through all Harry's pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten). **

"**What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not really frogs, are they?" He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him. **

"**No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa." **

Remus said: "I own fifteen Agrippa."

"I own seventeen", Regulus commented.

"**What?" **

"**Oh, of course, you wouldn't know — Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside them, you know, to collect — famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."**

"Twenty Ptolemy", Remus said

"I've got nineteen", Regulus admitted.

**Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore. **

"**So this is Dumbledore!" said Harry. **

"**Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa — thanks —" **

**Harry turned over his card and read: **

_**ALBUS DUMBLEDORE **_

_**CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling. **_

The Golden Trio groaned. The others didn't even bother to ask.

**Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared. **

"**He's gone!" **

"**Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron. "He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her… do you want it? You can start collecting." **

**Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.**

"**Help yourself," said Harry. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos." **

"**Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "Weird!" **

"Like father like son", everyone who was magical and not born with the last name Weasley commented

**Harry stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards,**

"Naturally", Hermonie teased her husband.

**but Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them. Soon he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. He finally tore his eyes away from the Druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.**

"Sounds awesome"

"**You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Harry. "When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor — you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger- flavored one once." **

"These aren't as cool as I imagined", Tony announced.

**Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner. **

"**Bleaaargh — see? Sprouts." **

**They had a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper. **

"That's not that bad."

**The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills. **

**There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Harry had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful. **

"Neville!" exclaimed Hermonie, "I was going to help you."

"**Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?" **

**When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!" **

"**He'll turn up," said Harry. **

"**Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him…" **

**He left. **

"**Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk." **

**The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap. **

Everybody who knew growled again.

"**He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…" **

Fred and George laughed: "You actually fell for that!?"

**He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end. **

"**Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway —" **

**He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toad less boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes. **

"Hermonie" the twins and Lee said.

"Are you going to do that every time someone gets introduced?", Harry asked the twins and Lee.

"Nah, just this Chapter" the twins and Lee reassured.

"**Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth. **

"**We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand. **

"**Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." **

**She sat down. Ron looked taken aback. **

"**Er — all right." **

**He cleared his throat. **

"**Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow." **

Every magical except Ron laughed.

"I take that's nowhere near actual spells", Bruce assumed.

**He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep. **

"**Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard — I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough — I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"**

Jane breathed in and out a few times. Hermonie blushed

"There's a thing called breathing. You should try that", Darcy said.

**She said all this very fast. **

**Harry looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned the entirety of the course books by heart either. **

"**I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered. **

"**Harry Potter," said Harry. **

"**Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course — I got a few extra books, for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century." **

"All of which were full of lies."

"**Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed. **

"**Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad… Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon." **

**And she left, taking the toadless boy with her. **

"**Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron.**

"Ginny, would you mind hitting my husband's head for me?"

"Not at all." Ginny said eagerly.  
>"OW!" Ron exclaimed.<p>

"Thanks."

**He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell — George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud." **

"Then why did you try it?" Percy wanted to know.

"**What house are your brothers in?" asked Harry. **

"**Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin." **

"**That's the house Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?" **

"**Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed. **

"**You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry, trying to take Ron's mind off houses.**

"You're a good friend, Harry", complimented Angelina

"**So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?" **

**Harry was wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school. **

"**Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron. "Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles — someone tried to rob a high security vault."**

"Really now, how stupid were they?" asked every magical from the past (Fred excluded) and Charlie.

**Harry stared. **

"**Really? What happened to them?"**

"**Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know- Who's behind it." **

"I bet they find out who did that", Tonks said.

"No one here is stupid enough to take that bet", Clint laughed.

**Harry turned this news over in his mind. He was starting to get a prickle of fear every time You-Know-Who was mentioned. He supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more comfortable saying "Voldemort" without worrying. **

The people who spent more time with Harry snorted.

"**What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked. **

"**Er — I don't know any." Harry confessed. **

"I DO NOW YOU CAN BREATHE!"

"**What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world —" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking Harry through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time. **

**Three boys entered, and Harry recognized the middle one at once: it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley. **

"Let me tell you again: I was an arrogant asshole just repeating what my father said." Reassured Draco.

"**Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?" **

"**Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards. **

"They were", Draco said, "They were even paid."

"**Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." **

Clint put up a serious face: "And my name is Bond, James Bond"

**Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him. **

"**Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." **

**He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." **

Draco face palmed.

**He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it. **

"Which was a good decision", Draco admitted.

"**I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly. **

**Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks. **

"**I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you." **

Draco banged his head against the wall: "I...was...so...freaking...stupid!"

**Both Harry and Ron stood up. **

"**Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair. **

"**Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered. **

"**Unless you get out now," said Harry, more bravely than he felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron. **

"**But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." **

**Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron — Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell. **

**Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle — Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once.**

"The only good thing the rat ever did", Ron said.

"Seconded", Malfoy agreed

"What's about that freaking rat?!" Steve wanted to know.

**Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in. **

"**What has been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail. **

"**I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No — I don't believe it — he's gone back to sleep." **

**And so he had. **

"**You've met Malfoy before?" **

**Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley. **

"**I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?" **

"**You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!" **

"**Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?" **

"**All right — I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"**

**Ron glared at her as she left. Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down. **

**He and Ron took off their jackets and pulled on their long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him; you could see his sneakers underneath them. **

**A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately." **

**Harry's stomach lurched with nerves and Ron, he saw, looked pale under his freckles. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor. **

**The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?" **

"HAGRID!" cried Lee and the twins.

**Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. **

"**C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" **

**Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice. **

"**Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here." **

**There was a loud "Oooooh!" **

**The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. **

"I want to see this", Tony declared.

"I'll ask Kingsley, the Minister of Magic", Harry promised.

Ron translated: "That means yes. If Harry wants anything, there are not many magical people who would say no."

"**No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione. **

"**Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then — FORWARD!" **

**And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood. **

"**Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff;**

Remus glared at Sirius and James.

**they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles. **

"**Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them. **

"TREVOR!" cried Neville worriedly,

"ENOUGH!" said Tony. "I want to hear the rest of it."

"The Chapter is only a few lines longer anyways." Jane assured.

"**Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. **

**They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door. **

"**Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" **

**Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.**

"Finished", Jane said, closing the book.

"So, break?"

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: No, nothing belongs to me. How dare you toinsult JKR like that!<strong>

**So, that's it, for now. I have already started the next Chapter, but I'm not sure when I'll be finished. **

**~Marvelgeek42**


	8. The Sorting Hat

**Hello Everyone!**

**Again, I have a few things before I start. First: Thanks to my beta Luke Amranvor yet again!**

**Second: I have completed my own list of the Hogwarts first years 1991/1992 which is below.**

**_Gryffindor:_ Girls: Lavender Brown, Fay Dunbar, Hermonie Granger, Rionach O'Neal and Parvati Patil. Boys: Seamus Finnegan, Neville Longbottom, Harry Potter, Dean Thomas and Ron Weasley.**

_**Hufflepuff:**_** Girls:**** Hannah Abbot, Susan Bones, Megan Jones, Leanne Moon and Sally-Anne Perks. Boys: Justin Finch-Fletchley, Wayne Hopkins, Bem Kellah, Morag MacDougal and Ernie Maximillian.**

_**Ravenclaw: **_**Girls:**** Mandy Brocklehurst, Sue Li, Padma Patil, Lisa Turpin and Emma Vance. Boys: Terry Boot, Michael Corner, Stephen Cornfoot, Kevin Entwhistle and Anthony Goldstein.**

_**Slytherin: **_**Girls:**** Millicent Bulstrode, Tracy Davis, Daphane Greengrass, Pansy Parkinson and Sophie Roper.****Boys:**** Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott ****and Blaise Zabini.**

**No one is an OC of mine, they all can be found in Potter Wiki. Okay, you won't find 'Bem Kellah' or 'Leanne Moon' but you'll find 'Bem', 'Kellah', 'Leanne' and 'Lily Moon'. I mixed them together to get to the forty students JKR had originally planned. The ones I sorted myself are Bem Kellah, Sally-Anne Perks, Emma Vance, Sophie Roper and Morag MacDougal.**

**Third: Originally I intended to let them talk in the beginning of this Chapter, but I couldn't find a topic. If you have an idea, tell me, and I'll probably use it. Soon.**

* * *

><p>"I got an idea. How about we go to my tower. Because it's getting kinda full in here", Tony provided.<p>

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"So you can do something on your own to get there?", Bruce asked, referring to Dumbledore appearing out of nowhere in the first Chapter.

The wizards and witches confirmed this.

"We even have several ways, theoretically speaking", Hermione elaborated, "The one we'll use is called apparating. We could take you along, if you want to. I have to warn you though, it's not a pleasant feeling. Or close to it."

"I'm gonna sit out that one", Bruce refused with everyone else nodding along with him; although some of them seemed to be considering it.

"Okay, what about Teddy, James, Remus, Lily, Tonks, Sirius, Severus and Regulus? They're underage", mentioned Percy.

Bill said "They can side along" at exact the same time Steve said: "They can come with us."

That said, all of the above stated that they would rather go with the Avengers and the other muggles, as they would apparate often enough in their later life.

When everyone had arrived in the living room of the Avengers (Stark) Tower, they decided that they would continue reading. Except for Angelina, Audrey, Alicia and Astoria who decided that they were going to help Colin Creevey to watch the kids. Their husbands would tell them any important information later.

"**The Sorting Hat**", Regulus read

"James we're going to hear Harry's sorting!", Lily squeaked.

**The door swung open at once. A tall, grey-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Harry's first thought was that this was not someone to cross.**

"AUNT MINNIE!" Teddy yelled.

The muggles wondered who that person was and the people from the past wondered and other thing that Sirius voiced: "Why would Moony's son call Professor McGonagall 'Aunt Minnie"  
>"Back in the first few years after the war we all were together almost constantly. Minerva introduced herself as 'Aunt Minerva' to Teddy when he first met her, but Teddy who was already learning to speak back then could only manage 'Minnie' and that name sorta stuck", Ron explained.<p>

"**The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid. **

"**Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." **

**She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors. **

"Not bad", Tony commented.

**They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right — the rest of the school must already be here —**

"Yep, we were" started Fred

"in there" ended George

**but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously. **

Every past Hogwarts student started thinking what they had done.

"**Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts.**

Harry snorted remembering parts of his first, second, fourth and fifth year.

**You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. **

"Or somewhere else in the castle or on the grounds in case it's not too clod", Lily added, sitting on James lap.

"**The four houses are called Gryffindor,**

Everyone who used to be a Gryffindor cheered. Every other magical except for Loki and Severus clapped.

**Hufflepuff,**

Tonks and Teddy cheered while every other (past) Hogwarts students excluding Severus but including Fleur and Dudley clapped.

**Ravenclaw,**

Luna and Audrey cheered. The other witches and wizards and Dudley clapped. Yes, that included Severus.

**and Slytherin.**

Regulus, Draco, Severus and Astoria cheered. Every wizard or witch from the present, Dudley, Remus, Lily and Tonks clapped.

James, Sirius and Fred stared at them.

"What?" Oliver asked.

"Why are you applauding for Slytherin?" inquired Fred.

"Because of reasons", Lee stated.

**Each house has its ow****n noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards.**

"But for every outstanding witch or wizard, there is always an evil one, a greedy one, or a corrupt one," Hermione said sagely.

**While you ar****e at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points,**

"Depending on the teacher and your house during our time", Ron mentioned.

**while any rule breaking will lose house points.**

"Most of the time", Harry laughed.

**At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. **

"**The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." **

"Why exactly is that done every year?", Remus wondered.

The rest shrugged, bar Neville who smiled knowingly.

**Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair. **

"No point", the Marauders, Teddy and Ginny said-

"**I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly." **

Everyone snorted. That many eleven-year-olds? Quiet? As if.

**She left the chamber. Harry swallowed. **

"**How exactly do they sort us into houses?" he asked Ron.**

"**Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking." **

"FRED!"

"OW! MOM!"

**Harry's heart gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But he didn't know any magic yet —what on earth would he have to do? He hadn't expected something like this the moment they arrived. He looked around anxiously and saw that everyone else looked terrified, too.**

"And that's the reason no one tells their kids of the BEEP", Sirius voiced his thoughts.

**No one was talking much except Hermione Granger, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'd need.**

Everyone turned to stare at the witch in question who blushed.

**Harry tried hard not to listen to her. He'd never been more nervous, never, not even when he'd had to take a school report home to the Dursleys saying that he'd somehow turned his teacher's wig blue.**

Everyone started laughing, even though Remus, Percy, Lily, Neville and Hermione tried not to and to look disapproving.

**He kept his eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead him to his doom. **

"Yes, I know I was overreacting."

**Then something happened that made him jump about a foot in the air — several people behind him screamed. **

"**What the —?" **

**He gasped. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall.**

"So ghosts are real too?" Darcy asked for clarification, which she got by the magicals and Thor nodding.

**Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance —" **

"**My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?" **

"Organizing a revolution against killer toads", Luna provided.

The ones not used to her turned to stare at her with an expression that said 'What the Fuck'

**A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years. **

**Nobody answered. **

"**New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?" **

"No, they're about to go on a road trip through Australia", Fred joked.

**A few people nodded mutely. **

"**Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know." **

"**Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." **

**Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall. **

"**Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me." **

**Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead, Harry got into line behind a boy with sandy hair,**

"Seamus!"  
>"YOU SAID YOU WOULD ONLY DO THE LAST CHAPTER!" Ginny yelled.<p>

"We know."

**with Ron behind him, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. **

Everyone who has ever been there thought about his/her memories.

**Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting.**

The look about on the muggle's faces all said the same: I. Have. To. See. This. ASAP.

**Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard Hermione whisper, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in **_**Hogwarts, A History**_**."**

"It's an interesting book!" Hermione protested.

"Who has read the book?" Ron asked, thinking his wife would be the only one.

Harry, Remus, Hermione, Luna, Lily, Dudley, Teddy, Sirius, James, Regulus, and Severus raised their hands.

**It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens.**

Tony looked like he just got an idea.

**Harry quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house. **

Everyone started to plan.

**Maybe they had to try and get a rabbit out of it, Harry thought wildly, that seemed the sort of thing — noticing that everyone in the hall was now staring at the hat, he stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth — and the hat began to sing: **

"I'm not going to sing"

"But you have an amazing voice, bro!"

"Please!" begged Lily and every other female, Natasha excluded, begged.

"Okay"

"_**Oh, you may not think I'm pretty, **_

"We don't"

_**But don't judge on what you see, **_

_**I'll eat myself if you can find **_

_**A smarter hat than me. **_

"Challenge Accepted", Fred, George, Lee and the Marauders whispered.

_**You can keep your bowlers black, **_

_**Your top hats sleek and tall, **_

_**For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat **_

_**And I can cap them all. **_

_**There's nothing hidden in your head **_

_**The Sorting Hat can't see, **_

_**So try me on and I will tell you **_

_**Where you ought to be.**_

_**You might belong in Gryffindor, **_

_**Where dwell the brave at heart, **_

_**Their daring, nerve, and chivalry **_

_**Set Gryffindors apart; **_

_**You might belong in Hufflepuff, **_

_**Where they are just and loyal, **_

_**Those patient Hufflepuffs are true **_

_**And unafraid of toil; **_

_**Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, **_

_**if you've a ready mind, **_

_**Where those of wit and learning, **_

_**Will always find their kind; **_

_**Or perhaps in Slytherin **_

_**You'll make your real friends, **_

_**Those cunning folk use any means **_

_**To achieve their ends. **_

_**So put me on! Don't be afraid! **_

_**And don't get in a flap! **_

_**You're in safe hands (though I have none) **_

_**For I'm a Thinking Cap!"**_

"You really have a good voice, Regulus", Tony complimented.

**The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again. **

"**So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry. "I'll kill Fred; he was going on about wrestling a troll." **

Everyone laughed but the Golden Trio who turned to stare at each other.

"Wait"

"You don't think"

"It could be possible, couldn't it?"

"We'll just have to pay attention if it happens again"

"Okay, I have no clue what that was about", George declared with the others nodding.

**Harry smiled weakly. Yes, trying on the hat was a lot better than having to do a spell, but he did wish they could have tried it on without everyone watching. The hat seemed to be asking rather a lot;**

"Not" began Fred.

"Really" ended George.

**Harry didn't feel brave or quick-witted or any of it at the moment. If only the hat had mentioned a house for people who felt a bit queasy, that would have been the one for him. **

"That would have been the house for everyone", Arthur theorized.

**Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. **

"**When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said.**

"I think we could have figured out that one for ourselves", Neville said.

"**Abbott, Hannah!" **

**A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down.**

"Harry, don't insult my wife", Neville mocked.

**A moment's pause — **

"**HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat. **

Teddy and Tonks cheered.

**The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her. **

"**Bones, Susan!" **

"I thought the Bones family was murdered", Lily wondered.

Bill answered: "Not Susan and Amelia. Everyone but these two were."

"**HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again,**

And Teddy and Tonks cheered again.

**and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah. **

"**Boot, Terry!" **

"**RAVENCLAW!" **

Luna and Audrey cheered.

**The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. **

"**Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too,**

Luna and Audrey cheered again.

**but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor,**

Everyone who at one point of his/her life was sorted to Gryffindor cheered.

**and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling. **

Everyone looked at them expecting them to repeat it. Which they didn't. But James and Sirius did.

"**Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin.**

Draco, Severus, Regulus and Astoria applauded.

**Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, after all he'd heard about Slytherin, but he thought they looked like an unpleasant lot. **

"It was my imagination", Harry said before the Slytherins could get angry which caused Lily and Hermione to look proud and James, Sirius and Fred to stare at him.

**He was starting to feel definitely sick now. He remembered being picked for teams during gym at his old school. He had always been last to be chosen, not because he was no good, but because no one wanted Dudley to think they liked him. **

"I'm sorry, Harry"

"I've forgive you long time ago, Dudley."

"**Finch-Fletchley, Justin!" **

"**HUFFLEPUFF!" **

Tonks and Teddy cheered yet again.

**Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide.**

"That's because some people fit in several houses while others just in one", Percy explained.

"**Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor. **

The Gryffindors cheered.

"**Granger, Hermione!" **

**Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head. **

"**GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Ron groaned. **

"OW! NOT BOTH OF YOU AT THE SAME TIME!", Ron protested as Ginny and Hermione slapped him.

**A horrible thought struck Harry, as horrible thoughts always do when you're very nervous. What if he wasn't chosen at all?**

"You wouldn't have got a letter in that case"

**What if he just sat there with the hat over his eyes for ages, until Professor McGonagall jerked it off his head and said there had obviously been a mistake and he'd better get back on the train? **

"Again, you would not have received a letter", Audrey repeated herself.

**When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR,"**

"It was considering to put me in Hufflepuff", Neville answered the unasked question.

**Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag." **

Regulus paused: "The house isn't mentioned."

"He was in Hufflepuff", Harry informed.

**Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"**

Regulus, Severus and Astoria cheered.

**Malfoy went to join his friends**

"They weren't my friends. I thought so, but they weren't"

**Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself. **

**There weren't many people left now. "Moon"…,**

"Leanne Moon used to be a Hufflepuff."

"**Nott"… ,**

"Theodore was in Slytherin"

"**Parkinson"… , then a pair of twin girls, "Patil"**

"Padma's a Ravenclaw"

**and "Patil"… ,**

"Parvati's a Gryffindor"

**then "Perks, Sally-Anne"… ,**

"She used to be a Hufflepuff too."

**and then, at last — **

"**Potter, Harry!" **

**As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall. **

"**Potter, did she say?" **

"No, she said Peters, can't you hear?", Fred joked.

"**The Harry Potter?" **

"No, the other one", George joined his twin.

**The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited. **

"**Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see.**

"So Gryffindor"

**Not a bad mind either.**

"That's Ravenclaw"

**There's talent, A my goodness, yes —**

"And that's Hufflepuff"

**and a nice thirst to prove yourself,**

"There would be Slytherin", Lily finished her list.

"That's...that's all four houses..."

"Yes, I noticed."

**now that's interesting… So where shall I put you?" **

**Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, Not Slytherin, not Slytherin. **

"Let's face it: We would have killed each other", Harry answered Draco's look.

"**Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that — no?**

"You really had to persuade the hat...", Audrey wondered.

**Well, if you're sure — better be GRYFFINDOR!"**

**Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. He was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, he hardly noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the Prefect**

The pranksters laughed or smiled.

**got up and shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!"**

Which they were repeating right now.

**Harry sat down opposite the ghost in the ruff he'd seen earlier. The ghost patted his arm, giving Harry the sudden, horrible feeling he'd just plunged it into a bucket of ice-cold water.**

"Note to self: Never touch a ghost", Clint muttered.

**He could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest him sat Hagrid, who caught his eye and gave him the thumbs up. Harry grinned back. And there, in the center of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. Harry recognized him at once from the card he'd gotten out of the Chocolate Frog on the train.**

The Golden Trio groaned.

**Dumbledore's silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts. Harry spotted Professor Quirrell**

The Trio growled.

**, too, the nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very peculiar in a large purple turban. And now there were only three people left to be sorted.**

"Dean, Lisa, Ron and Blaise. There were four people left. A tenth of all first years."

"**Thomas, Dean," a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined Harry at the Gryffindor table.**

The Lions cheered.

"**Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw**

Luna and Audrey cheered.

**and then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now. Harry crossed his fingers under the table and a second later the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" **

The Lions cheered a final time.

**Harry clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into the chair next to him. **

"**Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley pompously across Harry as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin.**

The snakes cheered.

**Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away. **

**Harry looked down at his empty gold plate. He had only just realized how hungry he was. The pumpkin pasties seemed ages ago. **

"With just sweets in three days, that's no wonder", Lily muttered like she was ready to curse someone.

**Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there. **

"**Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are:**

Regulus raised his eyebrow while reading: "**Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!**"

"...What?" Tony said after what seemed like hours.

"**Thank you!" He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Harry didn't know whether to laugh or not. **

"LAUGH!" yelled everybody who knew Dumbledore.

"**Is he — a bit mad?" he asked Percy uncertainly. **

"**Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?" **

**Harry's mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs. **

"JARVIS, please order some food. Anybody against pizza?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"_The usual, Sir?_"

"Yeah, just more."

"_Yes, Sir_", JARVIS' voice came from the ceiling.

**The Dursleys had never exactly starved Harry,**

"I don't wanna see your definition of being starved. Nor do I like it", James growled.

**but he'd never been allowed to eat as much as he liked. Dudley had always taken anything that Harry really wanted, even if it made him sick.**

Everyone started growling or cursing in different languages that included but not limited to Russian (Natasha), French (Fleur), Old Norse (Thor and Loki), Gobbledegook (Bill), Italian (Tony), German (Steve) and Spanish (Bruce).

**Harry piled his plate with a bit of everything except the peppermints and began to eat. It was all delicious. **

"**That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Harry cut up his steak. **

"**Can't you —?" **

"**I haven't eaten for nearly five hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower." **

"**I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you — you're Nearly Headless Nick!" **

"OW!"

"There's something called tact, _Ronald_."

"That was over 20 years ago, Mione."

"**I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy —"the ghost began stiffly, but sandy- haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted. **

"**Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?" **

"That's what I'd like to know", Tony, Bruce and Jane muttered.

**Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted. **

"It went exactly the way he wanted", Remus stated.

"**Like this," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly.**

"Why would someone stop in the middle of beheading someone?" Jane wondered.

**Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So — new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year?**

Everyone who knew the events of that year grinned.

**Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row!**

Regulus and Severus smirked while the Marauders gasped.

**The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable — he's the Slytherin ghost." **

**Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Malfoy who, Harry was pleased to see, didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements. **

"I wasn't"

"I'm sor – OW!" said Harry as Ginny thwacked him.

"Stop being sorry for everything! It's annoying!" exclaimed Ginny and Hermione.

"**How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest. **

"**I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately. **

Bill turned to Harry. "Do you now?"

"Not telling."

"He knows", groaned the other members of the Golden Trio.

**When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding… **

The males all had dreamy looks on their faces.

**As Harry helped himself to a treacle tart, the talk turned to their families.**

"**I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a muggle. Mom didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him." **

_This could have ended badly_, Severus thought, thinking of his father.

**The others laughed. **_**Except for Harry who knew this could have ended badly.**_

Severus shuddered at having the same thought as _Potter Jr_.

"**What about you, Neville?" said Ron. **

"**Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all-muggle for ages.**

"Don't you mean a BEEEP?", Sirius wondered.

"I was surrounded by muggle raised people"; Neville explained

**My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me — he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned — but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced — all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here — they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad." **

By the end of the speech everyone was growling and/ or cursing again.

**On Harry's other side, Percy Weasley and Hermione were talking about lessons**

"What else – OW!" Ron asked as Hermione twisted his ear.

**("I do hope they start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult —"; "You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing — "). **

**Harry, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up at the High Table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban,**

Regulus wondered why the book wasn't burning from the glares the Golden trio gave it.

**was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin. **

"WHAT!?", exclaimed the Marauders and Severus.

The latter continued with: "I don't even like children. Why would I teach?"

**It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell's turban straight into Harry's eyes — and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on Harry's forehead. **

"WHAT?!" yelled everyone.

"**Ouch!" Harry clapped a hand to his head. **

"**What is it?" asked Percy. **

"**N-nothing." **

**The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling Harry had gotten from the teacher's look — a feeling that he didn't like Harry at all. **

The Marauders and Lily glared threateningly at Severus.

"**Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" he asked Percy. **

"**Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to — everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape." **

**Harry watched Snape for a while, but Snape didn't look at him again.**

**At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent. **

"Which so far only three people managed." informed Regulus

"**Ahem — just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. **

"**First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." **

**Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins. **

Who whistled innocently. As did the Golden Trio and the Marauders.

"**I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. **

"**Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. **

"Or BEEEP a BEEEEEEP."

"**And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." **

"WHAAAAAT!" yelled everyone who wasn't there.

Which reminded Remus that he had to find something for his ears.

**Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did. **

"**He's not serious?" he muttered to Percy. **

"**Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere — the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least." **

"He doesn't tell prefects everything. I was stupid."

"**And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!"**

"I swear, there was alcohol involved when that song was made", Harry muttered.

**cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed. **

**Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words. **

Harry noticed that that was exact the same charm Riddle used in the Chamber."

"**Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!" **

**And the school bellowed: **

As did every prankster who knew the song. Which was why Regulus had to repeat the song.

(Charlie sang to 'Gangnam Style' by Psy, Teddy to 'Applause' by Lady Gaga, Tonks to 'Like A Virgin' by Madonna, Remus to 'Silver Star' by the Four Seasons, James to 'Hey Jude' by the Beatles, Sirius to 'Dancing Queen by ABBA, George to 'What does the fox say' by Yilvis, Fred to 'Barbie Girl' by Aqua and Lee to 'Call Me Maybe' by Carly Rae Jepsen) **(A/N: I'd actually like to hear that)**

"_**Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, **_

_**Teach us something please, **_

_**Whether we be old and bald **_

_**Or young with scabby knees,**_

_**Our heads could do with filling **_

_**With some interesting stuff, **_

_**For now they're bare and full of air, **_

_**Dead flies and bits of fluff, **_

_**So teach us things worth knowing, **_

_**Bring back what we've forgot, **_

_**just do your best, we'll do the rest, **_

_**And learn until our brains all rot." **_

"...You've got to be kidding me", said Natasha. The others who never heard the song looked like they were agreeing with her.

**Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest. **

"Is that guy for real?" Jane asked nobody in particular.

"**Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!" **

**The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Harry's legs were like lead again, but only because he was so tired and full of food. He was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Harry was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt. **

The muggles stared at the further description of Hogwarts. None of them could wait to see this.

**A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Percy took a step toward them they started throwing themselves at him. **

"**Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves — show yourself." **

**A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered. **

"**Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?" **

"Don't play the Blo-", Remus began.

"Bloody baron card so early. I know that now."

**There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross-legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks. **

"**Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!" **

**He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked. **

"**Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy. **

**Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head. They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armor as he passed. **

"**You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are." **

Percy could be heard muttering insults to his past self, just like Draco had been doing earlier and Dudley would do.

**At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress. "Password?" she said. **

"So that's where it is", Regulus, Audrey, Luna, Draco, Tonks and Astoria said.

"**Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it — Neville needed a leg up — and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs. **

**Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase — they were obviously in one of the towers — they found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed. **

"**Great food, isn't it?" Ron muttered to Harry through the hangings. "Get off, Scabbers! He's chewing my sheets." **

Everyone who knew growled. The rest wondered once again, what the heck their problem with that rat was. Except for Remus who wondered, if it had something to do with Peter not being with them.

**Harry was going to ask Ron if he'd had any of the treacle tart, but he fell asleep almost at once. **

**Perhaps Harry had eaten a bit too much, because he had a very strange dream.**

"I don't remember that one."

**He was wearing Professor Quirrell's turban, which kept talking to him, telling him he must transfer to Slytherin at once, because it was his destiny. Harry told the turban he didn't want to be in Slytherin; it got heavier and heavier; he tried to pull it off but it tightened painfully — and there was Malfoy, laughing at him as he struggled with it — then Malfoy turned into the hook-nosed teacher, Snape, whose laugh became high and cold — there was a burst of green light and Harry woke, sweating and shaking. **

"Wait a second...that was kind of...wasn't it?", Hermione wondered.

**He rolled over and fell asleep again, and when he woke next day, he didn't remember the dream at all. **

"That's the end of the Chapter", Regulus said, closing the book, "Who's next?"

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, there wouldn't be the mistake with the number of students left to be sorted.<strong>

**Yes, I started the next Chapter. NO, I don't know when I'll be finished.**

**~Marvelgeek42**


	9. The Potions Master

**Okay, this chapter comes later than I wanted it.**

**I had no choice, as my laptop kinda broke. I worked out a way arround it just about an hour ago. The next few chapters will probably take a longer time because of this, but I promise you I'm trying. Also school starts again next week, which will obviously take time too.**

**Thanks yet again to Luke Amranvor, my beta**

* * *

><p>Oliver, Charlie, Lee, Fleur and Bill all had to leave because of their respective jobs. All of them promised, that they would return later, if it was possible.<p>

"I'll read", offered Hermione.

"**The Potions Master**", Hermione read.

Harry turned to Severus.

"Be careful what you say", Harry advised.

"Why?" Severus questioned.

"Remember when I thought you didn't like me at all?"

Severus nodded.

"I was right."

Severus gulped as the Marauders, Tonks, Fred and Lily glared at him.

"**There, look." **

"What?" Sirius asked.  
>"I was reading the book", Hermonie said.<p>

"I know that!"

"**Where?"**

"**Next to the tall kid with the red hair." **

"No, next to the small kid with purple hair", James said sarcastically.

Teddy, who sat next to Harry, changed his hair purple.

"See?"

"**Wearing the glasses?"**

"No, wearing an Auror's uniform", Remus joined in.

"**Did you see his face?" **

"Yes, yes, I did", Fred added, pretending to be proud.

"**Did you see his scar?" **

"Nope. Covered by hair", George laughed.

**Whispers followed Harry from the moment he left his dormitory the next day.**

"That is so annoying. And it's even worse now!" Harry groaned.

_Impossible_, Severus thought, _A Potter disliking attention? Must be Lily's genes._

"I feel you", Steve and Tony said.

They looked at each other.

"That never happened"

"Agreed"

**People lining up outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at him, or doubled back to pass him in the corridors again, staring. Harry wished they wouldn't, because he was trying to concentrate on finding his way to classes. **

"They could at least have told you the way to class," Lily ranted, "if they are following you like oh, I don't know"

"Like me and Sirius a Quidditch star? Like little kids playing tag?" James supplied.

"Exactly!"

**There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts:**

"You _counted_!?" Ron exclaimed.

Harry blushed. The rest laughed.

"Well, the hat did say Ravenclaw", Regulus voiced his thoughts.

**wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday;**

"Sounds confusing", Darcy groaned.

**some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place,**

The Marauders, Weasley Twins, Ginny and the Golden Trio smiled knowingly.

"Which room is it?" Clint asked.

"That's what you would like to know", Ginny smiled.

**and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Harry was sure the coats of armor could walk. **

"They can't", every witch or wizard who wasn't at the (second) Battle of Hogwarts denied.

"They can", those who were there argued.

**The ghosts didn't help, either.**

"The Grey Lady / Nick / The Fat Friar / The Bloody Baron is", the (former) students protested.

**It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class.**

"Fabian and Gideon gave him that idea", Molly remembered.

**He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!" **

"That's us", Remus admitted, "Sirius, James, me and -"  
>"No one", Harry interrupted. Everyone who knew glared at the thought of him.<p>

The Marauders wondered what he had against Peter.

Tonks wondered why Harry had a problem with Peter Pettigrew, the hero, but not her cousin, the traitor, Sirius Black.

**Even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch. Harry and Ron managed to get on the wrong side of him on their very first morning.**

The Marauders and Weasley Twins looked at them in awe.

"It took us a week / three weeks!"

**Filch found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor. He wouldn't believe they were lost, was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose,**

Percy snorted.

"They were first years on their first day. Anyone else, okay, but please. That's just ridiculous."

**and was threatening to lock them in the dungeons when they were rescued by Professor Quirrell, who was passing. **

The Trio snorted.

"Please, he didn't save anyone."

"But it is a coincidence he was passing."

"I mean, every place he had a reason to be was at the other end of the castle, but I'm sure he had a reason."

The others stared at them.

Remus, Regulus, Loki, Tony, Jane and Bruce began to suspect something was wrong with Quirrell.

**Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp like eyes just like Filch's. She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later.**

"Creepy cat", Clint muttered.

**Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone**

"Hey!" protested the Weasley Twins, Marauders and rest of the Golden Trio.

**(except perhaps the Weasley twins)**

"That's better."

The Marauders and the rest of the Golden Trio pouted.

"For the love of Merlin! I didn't know about you guys back then! And it was our first day! We didn't know _any_ secret passageways!"

**and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him, and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick. **

"I did", the Weasley boys but Ron, Marauders and Draco announced proudly.

"Wait...how did that cat live that long?" Harry wondered.

**And then, once you had managed to find them, there were the classes themselves. There was a lot more to magic, as Harry quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words. **

"Why did you think that?, Regulus asked.

"You see muggle 'magicians' pretend to do things with waving a stick and saying things like '_hocus_ _pocus_'", Harry explained.

"Or _Abracadabra_", Natasha supplied which caused everyone who either didn't know this before or had seen the Avada to stiffen.

**They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets.**

"Did you like have more free time in the afternoon to sleep then?" Jane asked

Hermione, Harry and Percy frowned.

"No", Hermione said slowly, "Actually we did not. It's a good idea though. Or move it to Friday so you can sleep in."  
>The Marauders, Lily, Regulus, Severus, Tonks and Teddy nodded. Staying up this long once a week really took out a lot of them. Especially those in their fifth year (all above but Teddy and Regulus) with the OWLs coming up.<p>

**Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for.**

"Herbology is awesome. At least with Professor Neville."

Neville smiled proudly. Since he took over, the scored in OWLs and NEWTs were higher than before (and they were not really low). Only about two people per year did not pass (and those were from very...inbred families).

The muggles stared at him.

"Professor...Neville?" Steve asked.

Neville winked.

"Well, yeah. I grew up with him as 'Uncle Neville'. I couldn't really bring myself to call him 'Professor Longbottom' all the time, so Professor Neville. Got a problem with that?" Teddy explained jokingly.

**Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost.**

"Agreed", said everyone who ever had that class.

The others wondered. A class taught by a ghost sounded cool.

"I mean honestly! Binns only covers Goblin wars in all six years so far! Not, that isn't an important topic, but there's a reason no one since 1834 made a BEEP in History! There are a lot of other things worth teaching in the book. Like the Wizarding Wars in the last few centuries. And that book doesn't even _mention_ non-magical history! It could be such an interesting class, but the way Binns teaches it, it's worthless", Teddy ranted.

"Exactly", Charlie agreed, "All I ever did in that class was sleep. In my third year I handed in some lyrics of a song of the BEEEP BEEEEEP and got full marks. For the exams I memorized my textbook."

"See, that's what I mean! History is an important subject, but Binns might have been a good teacher once but he can't even remember _my_ name and I'm the only one in my class in sixth year!"

"Why do you even still do it", Tonks wondered.

"I do it, so I can take my exams faster and become a teacher by the time Lily and Collin are in their fifth year."

Remus looked proud of his son. Which Teddy noticed.

**Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emetic the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up. **

"After the first week only about one student per house and year would take notes. In Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff they took turns last I heard" Percy informed the rest of the room.

**Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk.**

Everyone smiled. Those who knew him at the man, those who didn't at the image of a teacher teaching while standing of a pile of books.

**At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight. **

Lily sighed.

Tony muttered: "I wish they had done this at MIT instead of assuming I just got in with Howard's money."

**Professor McGonagall was again different. Harry had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross.**

"Yet you did it!"

"Perce. Would you have preferred it, if we didn't?" Harry questioned

**Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class. **

"**Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back.**

The Marauders and Weasley twins snorted.

**You have been warned." **

**Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again.**

The muggles looked impressed. Thor laughed as Loki turned red.

Tony wanted to know what happened, but the brothers refused to tell.

**They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time.**

"We're doing it now", Teddy testified.

**After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger had made any difference to her match;**

"When did you do it?" James asked his son, wanting to know, if he had hints of his talent.

"At the beginning of the second lesson"; Harry replied.

**Professor McGonagall showed the class how it had gone all silver and pointy and gave Hermione a rare smile. **

"SHE CAN SMILE!?" James and Sirius asked seriously.

Remus face palmed. "She's human, you know?"

**The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts,**

"No wonder there!" Hermione observed, "You're the best in BEEEEEEEP!"

"I bet there was someone better"  
>"NO! I looked it up! Final exams! Yours are the best since Thomas Williams 1756!"<p>

**but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke. His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania**

"He wasn't in Romania"

"And he met someone worse"

"That idiot"

**and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie,**

Tony snorted.

"Please, I met a lot African Princes. There's no way someone like T'Challa would do that!"

"Who?", Clint asked confused.

"T'Challa, Prince of Wakanda. I'm one of the only people allowed in the country who were not born there."

The muggles, Harry and Hermione stared at him.

"How and why?" Natasha wanted to know.

"It sort of happened accidentally..." Tony trailed off. He had accidentally transported himself there while training with Charles Xavier.

Yes, Tony was a mutant. That's the reason why he didn't trust SHIELD. I mean why would he trust people who had experimented on him?

His powers were teleportation (although he had just recently figured out how to do it through certain materials) and he could make himself invisible.

**but they weren't sure they believed this story. For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather;**

"Not obvious at all", Ginny shook her head.

**for another, they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went. **

"That's not what was in there!" Harry muttered under his breath. Only the people next to him (Ron, Hermione and Ginny) or with enchanted senses (Remus, Teddy, Sirius, Steve, Thor and Loki) could hear.

**Harry was very relieved to find out that he wasn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Muggle families and, like him, hadn't had any idea that they were witches and wizards. There was so much to learn that even people like Ron didn't have much of a head start. **

"That many have-"

"Been his laziness."

**Friday was an important day for Harry and Ron. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once.**

The Marauders, Weasley Twins, Teddy, Tonks and Regulus cheered.

"**What have we got today?" Harry asked Ron as he poured sugar on his porridge. **

"**Double Potions with the Slytherins," said Ron. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them — we'll be able to see if it's true." **

"It is", everyone who had this class confirmed.

Severus sunk in his chair.

"**Wish McGonagall favored us," said Harry.**

"I take that back because a) McGonagall is a better teacher this way and b) she favors us concerning Quidditch."

**Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor House, but it hadn't stopped her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before. **

"...It wasn't that much actually. I was finished in 15 minutes."

"It took me 30!" shouted Ron

"Me 20", Neville commented.

"Me 35, because of my dyslexia which was 'discovered' when I was 20", Draco admitted.

"It took me 17", Hermione breathed.

**Just then, the mail arrived. Harry had gotten used to this by now, but it had given him a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps. **

**Hedwig hadn't brought Harry anything so far.**

"Why haven't I send you anything?" Remus wondered. From what they heard, he was the only one who was forbidden, not unable to take care of Harry. Why hadn't his future person written him anything?

"The minister decided that I could not be bothered with fan mail and, unknown to me warded my house and me that no owls except from Hogwarts, the ministry and my friends can reach me. I found about 324 of your letters, telling stories of the you guys and my grandparents and everything I could possibly want to know, and Christmas and Birthday presents for me in a vault in Gringotts", Harry answered.

**She sometimes flew in to nibble his ear and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls.**

"I like her", Lily declared.

**This morning, however, she fluttered down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note onto Harry's plate. Harry tore it open at once. It said, in a very untidy scrawl: **

_**Dear Harry, **_

_**I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? **_

_**I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig. **_

_**Hagrid **_

"I'm sure I already said that, but remind me to thank Hagrid", James said looking at Lily who sat on his lap.

"Sure", Lily replied.

**Harry borrowed Ron's quill, scribbled **_**Yes, please, see you later**_** on the back of the note, and sent Hedwig off again. **

**It was lucky that Harry had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because the Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to him so far.**

Severus paled.

**At the start-of-term banquet, Harry had gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he'd been wrong. Snape didn't dislike Harry**

Everyone who knew of their relationship stared at Harry or the book in Hermione's hands in disbelief.

**he hated him.**

"Yeah, sounds about right", Katie said.

**Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls. **

**Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name. **

"**Ah, Yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new — celebrity." **

"Really, Sev?"

**Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands.**

"It's not like we knew it. I'm sorry."

**Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels. **

Clint looked Severus in the eye.

"Nope. At least not yet."

"**You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word — like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." **

Lily frowned. "If you hadn't mentioned the 'dunderheads', it would have been a great speech."

**More silence followed this little speech. Harry and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead. **

"Gee, I was really annoying, wasn't I?"

"**Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" **

"How exactly would he now that? It's the _first_ lesson in _first_ year. That's fifth year!" James ranted.

**Powdered root of what to an infusion of what? Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stumped as he was; Hermione's hand had shot into the air. **

The room was impressed. Hermione blushed.

"**I don't know, sir," said Harry. **

**Snape's lips curled into a sneer. **

"**Tut, tut — fame clearly isn't everything." **

"That's what you're trying to prove? Or that James' son is an idiot?" Sirius inquired.

**He ignored Hermione's hand. **

"That's mean, Severus", Regulus disapproved.

"**Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" **

"Sixth year", Percy remembered.

**Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Harry didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter. **

"Once again, I'm sorry."

"**I don't know, sir." **

"**Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?"**

"It was proved you did. I'm sorry", Severus muttered barely audible.

**Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. He had looked through his books at the Dursleys', but did Snape expect him to remember everything in **_**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi**_**? **

"Wait. That's the Herbology book. Why did I think that? I meant _Magical Drafts and Potions_", Harry corrected himself.

**Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand. **

Everyone looked disapproving at Severus.

"**What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" **

"What?" wondered everyone from 1976.

"That was discovered in 1979", Bill explained.

**At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling. **

"**I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"**

"Lily", chorused the people from 1976, but Severus and Lily herself.

**A few people laughed; Harry caught Seamus's eye, and Seamus winked. Snape, however, was not pleased. **

"Thought that", Lily said.

"**Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?" **

"Because you didn't tell them to? Or is that too obvious?"

**There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter." **

"Just one point?", everyone between Bill's and Ginny's age who went to Hogwarts wondered.

**Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils.**

"Did you forget the security instructions? They're important! They could blow themselves up by simple mistakes."

**He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like. He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs**

"It was actually rather horrible. Your potion was better, Harry."  
>"Practice from chemistry and cooking, I guess."<p>

**when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs. **

"It was the first-ever lesson. You shouldn't be doing this!"

"**Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?" **

"No need to insult him", Lily scolded.

**Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose. **

"**Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville. **

"**You — Potter — why didn't you tell him not to add the quills?**

"Because I was busy with my own potion?"

**Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor." **

"Just two points so far?"

"Must be a record."

"Why?" Lily wondered at the twins' statement.

"He took points of for things like untied shoes, breathing loudly, asking questions, not asking questions, coming one second to late and a lot more."  
>Severus was deep red and sank deep in his chair.<p>

**This was so unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ron kicked him behind their cauldron. **

"Thank you, Ron!" James thanked him.

"**Don't push it," he muttered, "I've heard Snape can turn very nasty." **

"And that wasn't?" Dudley wondered.

"No, actually not", Neville replied.

**As they climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, Harry's mind was racing and his spirits were low. He'd lost two points for Gryffindor in his very first week —why did Snape hate him so much? **

"Because of me", James began.

"And me", Sirius added.

"And me", Remus joined.

"And that other thing that hasn't happened yet in your time", Harry finished.

"**Cheer up," said Ron, "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?" **

**At five to three they left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest.**

"What he seems to forget sometimes."

**A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door. **

**When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "Back, Fang —back." **

"Fang?" Tony thought about what they had said earlier, "Nice pet?"

"Yes. He's a coward", Draco answered.

**Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open. **

"**Hang on," he said. "Back, Fang." **

**He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound. **

"And that's a friendly pet? What are unfriendly ones then?", Jane wondered.

The Golden Trio looked at each other "You'll see"

**There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it. **

"**Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked. **

"Ahhh"

"**This is Ron," Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate. **

"**Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles. "I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest." **

"Not"

"really."

"He'd be"

"Four years"

**The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth, but Harry and Ron pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid all about their first lessons. Fang rested his head on Harry's knee and drooled all over his robes. **

**Harry and Ron were delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch "that old git." **

"Ah, the only coworker Hagrid would ever insult", Bill, Charlie and Tonks said.

"Wrong", Ron said, thinking of Lockhart and Umbridge.

"**An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime. D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her — Filch puts her up to it." **

**Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Ron, told Harry not to worry about it, that Snape liked hardly any of the students. **

"But he seemed to really hate him", Lily protested.

"**But he seemed to really hate me." **

"Creepy"

"**Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?" **

"Because of us?!"

**Yet Harry couldn't help thinking that Hagrid didn't quite meet his eyes when he said that. **

"**How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lot — great with animals." **

"Thank you very much!"

**Harry wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose.**

"Noooo, you think that?" Ginny said

**While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons, Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cozy. It was a cutting from the Daily Prophet: **

_**GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST **_

_**Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown. Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day. **_

"_**But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon. **_

**Harry remembered Ron telling him on the train that someone had tried to rob Gringotts, but Ron hadn't mentioned the date. **

"**Hagrid!" said Harry, "that Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday!**

"So that's your birthday! No, wait, you already said that", James commented.

"It was my birthday the day before."

**It might've been happening while we were there!" **

"Nope"

**There was no doubt about it, Hagrid definitely didn't meet Harry's eyes this time. He grunted and offered him another rock cake. Harry read the story again. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier that same day. Hagrid had emptied vault seven hundred and thirteen, if you could call it emptying, taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for? **

"Yes"

**As Harry and Ron walked back to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they'd been too polite to refuse,**

"Wait wait wait wait wait. _Ron_ too polite to refuse? You sure you don't mean Harry as to polite and Ron to hungry?" Ginny asked.

**Harry thought that none of the lessons he'd had so far had given him as much to think about as tea with Hagrid. Had Hagrid collected that package just in time? Where was it now? And did Hagrid know something about Snape that he didn't want to tell Harry? **

"Yes, Hogwarts and yes. That's the end of the Chapter, by the way. Who's next?"

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: JKR doesn't go to school in Germany. I do.<strong>

**Marvelgeek42**


	10. The Midnight Duel

**Hello!**

**Quidditch by the end of September won't work, but I'll try to get Halloween done.**

**Thanks yet again, my beta Luke Amranvor.**

* * *

><p>"Before we continue: I've been wondering for a while now, do we get to change things?" Lily asked Loki.<p>

Everyone looked at Loki interested.

"Indeed, you can", Loki answered slowly, "Yet at the same time, none of your efforts will have any effect to us."

Sirius was confused: "What?"

"When you will go back, exactly to the same time you left, you will remember everything. Obviously, you will change things. That will cause the time line to split in two lines. One where this never happened and one with your changes."

"But what about me? When I go back, will everything be as I know it or will I be in the changed time line?" Tonks asked.

"Yeah, me and Collin too."

Loki thought for a second. "I have to say, I am not sure. Both would be possible."

After about a minute Lily volunteered to read. Hermione passed her the book and Lily groaned.

"Why did you have to take after your father?"

James looked in the book (Lily was still sitting on his lap). "You're right, that sounds like me."

"**The Midnight Duel**", Lily read.

Remus laughed: "Now I get what you mean."

**Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley,**

"I don't think I would have either", Darcy agreed, not realizing that Dudley was in the room.

"I was an ass", the boy/man in question admitted.

**but that was before he met Draco Malfoy.**

"I also was one", Draco added.

**Still, first-year Gryffindors only had Potions with the Slytherins,**

"Why did they always put us together in the most dangerous classes? In Potions and DADA a lot can happen. Why not put them together in like History and Astronomy? I bet that would prevent a lot of injuries", Harry wondered.

"Good point", Hermione said adding it to the list with things to improve at Hogwarts they noticed.

**so they didn't have to put up with Malfoy much. Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room that made them all groan. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday**

"Why would that cause a groan?" Sirius inquired.

"Because Gryffindor and Slytherin are having the lessons together", Bruce guessed. Tony nodded along.

**- and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.**

Clint once again wondered how the geniuses did that.

"**Typical," said Harry darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy." **

"That's not exactly what happened, was it?" Neville asked.

"Not possible. All Potters are great flyers", James said.

**He had been looking forward to learning to fly more than anything else. **

"Of course you did, you're a Potter", Sirius commented

"**You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," said Ron reasonably. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk."**

"It kind of was. I've flown before but I exaggerated", Draco disproved of his younger self's actions.

**Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Quidditch teams**

"Yes, they never do it", Katie exclaimed sarcastically.

**and told long, boastful stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters.**

"Which were all invented. I didn't even know what a helicopter is. Just that it flies."

**He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick.**

"Well he's from Ireland..." Ron began.  
>"Actually he meant his preschool broomstick and other brooms for children. These things don't even get higher than one or two meters", Harry corrected.<p>

**Even Ron would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang glider on Charlie's old broom.**

"When exactly did you do this?" his parents and siblings chorused, making Ron blush and the laugh.

**Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly. Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared their dormitory, about soccer. Ron couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly.**

"You mean able to fly", Hermione glared.

"Have you ever watched a soccer game?" Tony asked.

Ron shook his head.

"I'll take you to one" Tony replied in a voice that made it obvious Ron had no choice in that matter.

**Harry had caught Ron prodding Dean's poster of West Ham soccer team, trying to make the players move. **

Percy, Hermione and Harry face palmed.

**Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one.**

"I had enough accidents with both feet on the ground." explained Neville

Harry stared at Neville weirdly. "I'll explain later" Neville told Harry.

**Privately, Harry felt she'd had good reason, because Neville managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground. **

The rest of them stared at the men.

**Hermione Granger was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was.**

"It wasn't something you can learn from a book", Tony guessed.

"But I bet she tried", Bruce added.

**This was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book — not that she hadn't tried.**

"This really has to stop", Harry groaned while the others laughed.

**At breakfast on Thursday she bored them all stupid with flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called **_**Quidditch Through the Ages**_**.**

"The only book – bar these for mischief or BEEEEEEP which I've ever read voluntary."

**Neville was hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, but everybody else was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the mail. **

"Must have been a sight", Jane said in a Luna-like voice.

**Harry hadn't had a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Malfoy had been quick to notice, of course.**

Draco muttered something which Remus and the others with enchanted hearing understood as: "Stupid eleven-year-old me."

**Malfoy's eagle owl was always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opened gloatingly at the Slytherin table. **

Draco banged his head on the table again.

**A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke. **

"What?" Natasha asked causing the not paranoid ones (everyone but Teddy, Harry, Tony, Loki and Clint) to jump.

"**It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things — this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red — oh…" His face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "… you've forgotten something…" **

"Does it tell you what you've forgot?" Bruce asked excited.

Percy frowned: "Nooo"

"What? It's useless this way!"

**Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand. **

Draco just left his head on the table and mentioned for Lily to continue.

**Harry and Ron jumped to their feet. They were half hoping for a reason to fight Malfoy,**

"Not really", Harry said, "I mean kind of...I mean."

**but Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school,**

"Naturally"

**was there in a flash.**

Tony laughed remembering the Flash comics he reads. I mean, used to read.

"**What's going on?" **

"**Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor." **

**Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table. **

"**Just looking," he said, and he sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him. **

**At three-thirty that afternoon, Harry, Ron, and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn**

"Perfect weather for flying", said the Quidditch nuts.

**on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance. **

**The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Harry had heard Fred and George Weasley complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left. **

"Why don't you get new brooms?" Steve asked, "These ones sound dangerous"  
>"They are", confirmed Percy, "But new brooms are too expensive."<p>

"So why not let the broom sellers sponsor them? They would gift new brooms in return for being allowed to advertise with something like 'The Broomsticks Hogwarts trusts' or something?", Tony wondered.

Hermione muttered: "Good idea" and added it to her list.

**Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk. **

"**Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up." **

**Harry glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.**

The Quidditch nuts shuddered at the thought if these brooms. As did the mothers (which includes Tonks and Lily as they know that they are going to be mothers someday), but for other reasons.

"**Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!'" **

"**UP" everyone shouted. **

**Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once,**

"You're a natural!" yelled Sirius jumping out of his chair. James would have done the same, but Lily was still sitting on him.

**but it was one of the few that did. Hermione Granger's had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all. Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid, thought Harry;**

The Wizards and Witches stared at Harry.

"That's...that's actually a brilliant theory!" James complimented.

Percy wrote it down so that he would remember to research it later. Or order someone to.

**there was a quaver in Neville's voice that said only too clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground. **

"I really would have preferred that."

**Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Harry and Ron were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years.**

"I'm sorry", Harry apologized.

"You have to stop that, mate. You're making the rest of us seem bad."

"**Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch.**

"Something is going to go wrong", Bruce assumed.

"**Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle — three — two —" **

**But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips. **

Bruce looked slightly pleased with himself, while the other Avengers (minus Tony who did the same thing sometimes)had long given up on trying to follow the connections the geniuses made.

"**Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle — twelve feet — twenty feet. Harry saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and — WHAM — a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay facedown on the grass in a heap.**

"That must have hurt", Tonks and Darcy winched.

**His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight. **

"Well, one less bad broom to worry about", Sirius joked.

**Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his. **

"**Broken wrist,"**

"Nothing bad than", Lily let out the breath she was holding.

**Harry heard her mutter. "Come on, boy — it's all right, up you get." **

**She turned to the rest of the class. **

"**None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing!**

"Because that is going to work", Clint said sarcastically.

**You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear." **

**Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him. **

**No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter. **

"Once again I'm sorry."

"**Did you see his face, the great lump?" **

**The other Slytherins joined in. **

"**Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil. **

"**Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati." **

"Wait...she called her Parvati. Not Patil. Why that?" Jane inquired having noticed a pattern.

"The two of them and Padma did everything together. After the sorting that stopped", Draco explained.

"**Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass.**

"The Remembrall?", Tony asked.

"**It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."**

**The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up. **

"**Give that here, Malfoy," said Harry quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch. **

**Malfoy smiled nastily. **

"**I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find — how about — up a tree?" **

"I'm-"

"You can stop, Draco. I know you are sorry", Neville interrupted.

"**Give it here!" Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been lying, he could fly well. Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Potter!" **

"You didn't expect him to do, did you", Bruce assumed.

**Harry grabbed his broom. **

"**No!" shouted Hermione Granger. "Madam Hooch told us not to move — you'll get us all into trouble."**

"Errr...why?" Natasha wondered, "I mean just the two of them would get In trouble, wouldn't they? And you tried to stop them, and Harry sounds like he'd say this, so you'd have to expect even less."

**Harry ignored her. Blood was pounding in his ears. He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared; air rushed through his hair, and his robes whipped out behind him — and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he'd found something he could do without being taught — this was easy, this was wonderful.**

"YOU'RE A NATURAL!" Sirius yelled.

**He pulled his broomstick up a little to take it even higher, and heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground**

"Bar Hermione", Ron added.

**and an admiring whoop from Ron. **

"It was amazing, you know."

**He turned his broomstick sharply to face Malfoy in midair. Malfoy looked stunned. **

"I was."

"**Give it here," Harry called, "or I'll knock you off that broom!" **

"**Oh, yeah?" said Malfoy, trying to sneer, but looking worried. **

"I was."

**Harry knew, somehow, what to do. He leaned forward and grasped the broom tightly in both hands, and it shot toward Malfoy like a javelin. Malfoy only just got out of the way in time; Harry made a sharp about-face and held the broom steady. A few people below were clapping. **

"Mostly Gryffindors", Neville said.

"Excuse me, mostly?" Remus and Regulus wondered.

"Daphane Greengrass. Draco's sister-in-law-", Neville explained.

"**No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy," Harry called. **

"That's right."

**The same thought seemed to have struck Malfoy. **

"It did"

"**Catch it if you can, then!"**

Tony smiled at Bruce and Clint. They chorused: "I understood that reference."

"...what", Severus asked confused.

"There's a movie called _Catch me if you can_. It's with Leonardo DiCaprio", Clint answered.

**he shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back toward the ground. **

Draco looked down: "I was sure you would crash"

**Harry saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. He leaned forward and pointed his broom handle down — next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball — wind whistled in his ears, mingled with the screams of people watching — he stretched out his hand — a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently onto the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his fist.**

"...Not even Charlie could have done this", Percy yelled.

"THAT WAS YOUR FIRST TIME ON A BROOM!?" Sirius exclaimed.

"**HARRY POTTER!" **

"Busted", all the pranksters said.

**His heart sank faster than he'd just dived. Professor McGonagall was running toward them. He got to his feet, trembling. **

"I was seriously – don't – worried."

"**Never — in all my time at Hogwarts —" Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously, "— how dare you — might have broken your neck —" **

"Other people maybe, but not Harry Potter!" Fred announced.

"**It wasn't his fault, Professor —"**

"Exactly!" Tony agreed.

"**Be quiet, Miss Patil —" **

"She isn't even listening?!" Tony exclaimed angrily. It was similar to what had happened to him once during college (when he was 14), he still didn't like to talk (or think) about it.

"...Are you okay?" Remus asked.

"Sort of."

"**But Malfoy —" **

"**That's enough, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now." **

**Harry caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's triumphant faces as he left,**

"Once aga-"

"You can stop it, Draco."

"You do know you're a hypocrite, don't you?"

"Shut up, 'Mione."

**walking numbly in Professor McGonagall's wake as she strode toward the castle. He was going to be expelled, he just knew it.**

"That's not exactly what happened...", Katie laughed-

**He wanted to say something to defend himself, but there seemed to be something wrong with his voice. Professor McGonagall was sweeping along without even looking at him; he had to jog to keep up. Now he'd done it.**

"Pessi-"  
>"Imagine you in my <em>exact<em> situation, Gred"

"Touché."

**He hadn't even lasted two weeks. He'd be packing his bags in ten minutes. What would the Dursleys say when he turned up on the doorstep? **

"Dad would probably have put you in an orphanage or something."

**Up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside, and still Professor McGonagall didn't say a word to him. She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with Harry trotting miserably behind her. Maybe she was taking him to Dumbledore.**

"Nope, she was taking you to my BEEEEEP...I totally forgot about that thing."

**He thought of Hagrid, expelled but allowed to stay on as gamekeeper. Perhaps he could be Hagrid's assistant. His stomach twisted as he imagined it, watching Ron and the others becoming wizards, while he stumped around the grounds carrying Hagrid's bag. **

"Please try to stop thinking like that" Ginny begged her husband.

"I'll try, but I can't promise anything."

**Professor McGonagall stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside. **

"**Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?" **

"What the heck", Tony started, before looking at Katie "...ohhhhhh"

**Wood? thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him? **

"McGonagall would be horrified, if she new you thought this", Hermonie stated.

"You can't exactly blame him", Dudley protested embarrassed.

**But Wood turned out to be a person, a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwick's class looking confused. **

"Oh, he was", Katie clarified, "He told me that loads of times. Not that I mind."

"**Follow me, you two," said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at Harry. **

"**In here."**

**Professor McGonagall pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Peeves,**

The pranksters smiled at the mention of Peeves.

**who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard. **

The Marauders looked at each other and chorused: "We taught him some of them."

Lily who had moved from James' lap now sitting next to him giggled.

"**Out, Peeves!" she barked. Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face the two boys. **

"**Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood — I've found you a Seeker." **

Sirius, Remus, Regulus, James and Tonks were stunned. "But …. but first years never..."

**Wood's expression changed from puzzlement to delight. **

"**Are you serious, Professor?" **

"No, I am."  
>"Sirius. That joke got old when you were five", Regulus said.<p>

The pranksters laughed.

"**Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "The boy's a natural. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter?"**

"Yes, it was my first time on a _real_ broomstick."

**Harry nodded silently. He didn't have a clue what was going on, but he didn't seem to be being expelled, and some of the feeling started coming back to his legs. **

"**He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive," Professor McGonagall told Wood. "Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it." **

"That's what I said!" Percy said.

**Wood was now looking as though all his dreams had come true at once. **

"**Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter?" he asked excitedly. **

"He was raised by magic-hating muggles. What do you think?" Lily asked sarcastically.

"**Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team," Professor McGonagall explained. **

"**He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. "Light —speedy — we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor — a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say." **

"Ohh a Nimbus? They are top of the line?" James asked.

"At that point? Yes. Now? BEEP. Why"

James answered: "My Dad has been asked to sponsor them and he is...was still thinking when we left as far as I know."

"**I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule.**

"So THAT'S how you do it", Sirius sighed.

**Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. Flattened in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks…" **

The Marauders, Fred and non-magical pranksters laughed.

**Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Harry. **

"**I want to hear you're training hard, Potter, or I may change my mind about punishing you." **

**Then she suddenly smiled. **

"...she smiled to you?" James was stunned. She normally would hide her smile outside of class when in presence of students.

"She did."

"**Your father would have been proud,"**

"I would be...I mean am."

**she said. "He was an excellent Quidditch player himself." **

"Thank you, Minnie!"

"**You're joking." **

"Before you argue, James, it's skips to dinner", Lily prevented a (short) argument from happening.

**It was dinnertime. Harry had just finished telling Ron what had happened when he'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak and kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he'd forgotten all about it. **

"YOU MADE RON FORGET ABOUT FOOD!?" Mrs. Weasley yelled honestly shocked.

Ron blushed and everyone else laughed. Even Natasha smiled for like a second.

"**Seeker?" he said. "But first years never — you must be the youngest house player in about —" **

" — **a century," said Harry, shoveling pie into his mouth.**

"Did Ron remember the food?" Fred asked.

"No"

The Weasley twins actually fainted.

"My husband told you that didn't he?"

**He felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Wood told me."**

"Katie was right!" George exclaimed standing up.

**Ron was so amazed, so impressed, he just sat and gaped at Harry. **

"**I start training next week," said Harry. "Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret." **

"No one can keep a secret in Hogwarts", Regulus stated with Tonks, Lily and Severus nodding in agreement.

"Oh, believe me, it is", James and Harry answered.

**Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted Harry, and hurried over. **

"**Well done," said George in a low voice. "Wood told us. We're on the team too — Beaters." **

"The best", everyone who had seen them play said.

"**I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us." **

"Wait, did I say almost? I apologize for my mistake years to late". Fred put his head down.

"**Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school." **

"Did he?" the Marauders asked excited.

"**Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week.**

Sirius was stunned. "First week? We only found it in our third!"

The Weasley twins looked incredibly proud.

**See you." **

**Fred and George had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up: Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. **

"**Having a last meal, Potter?**

"That would mean he got sentenced to Death", Natasha clarified.

"I know that now."

**When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?" **

"**You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry coolly. There was of course nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl.**

"Not, that they can do much more anyways", Draco commented.

"**I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel.**

"You're first years", Regulus said deadpanned.

**Wands only — no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?" **

"**Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm his second, who's yours?" **

"RONALD WEASLEY!"

"THAT WAS OVER TEN YEARS AGO MOM!"

**Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up. **

"**Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked." **

"I smell a trap", Tony whispered loudly, the spies nodding in agreement.

**When Malfoy had gone, Ron and Harry looked at each other. **

"**What is a wizard's duel?" said Harry. "And what do you mean, you're my second?" **

"That's what I'd like to know", Jane muttered.

"**Well, a second's there to take over if you die," said Ron casually,**

"I love how you say it so casually", Clint laughed.

**getting started at last on his cold pie. Catching the look on Harry's face, he added quickly, "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards.**

"You were fake wizards then or what?", Dudley wondered jokingly.

**The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway." **

"I did."

"**And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"**

"Throw it away and punch him on the nose," Sirius suggested.

"**Throw it away and punch him on the nose," Ron suggested.**

Everyone started to look between these two.

"**Excuse me." **

"Let me guess, Hermione?" Bruce – guess what – guessed.

**They both looked up. It was Hermione Granger. **

"Trying, and probably failing to be the voice of reason", Remus guessed, "That's how I became a BEEEEEEP."

"**Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" said Ron. **

**Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry. **

"**I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying —" **

"**Bet you could," Ron muttered. **

"RONALD!"

"SHE MARRIED ME! I DON'T THINK SHE STILL MINDS!"

"— **and you mustn't go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you." **

"**And it's really none of your business," said Harry. **

"Sorry"

"See, I told you you're a hypocrite!"

"Shut up, Mia."

"**Good-bye," said Ron. **

**All the same, it wasn't what you'd call the perfect end to the day, Harry thought, as he lay awake much later listening to Dean and Seamus falling asleep (Neville wasn't back from the hospital wing).**

"But Madame BEEEEEEP can heal it in seconds!" Remus protested.

**Ron had spent all evening giving him advice such as "If he tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them."**

"Reeeeeaaaaally helpful", James said sarcastically.

"I know, right", Ron replied in the same voice.

**There was a very good chance they were going to get caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris, and Harry felt he was pushing his luck, breaking another school rule today.**

"That were times", Harry said nostalgically.

**On the other hand, Malfoy's sneering face kept looming up out of the darkness — this was his big chance to beat Malfoy face-to-face. He couldn't miss it. **

"**Half-past eleven," Ron muttered at last, "we'd better go." **

**They pulled on their bathrobes, picked up their wands, and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase, and into the Gryffindor common room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into hunched black shadows. They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice spoke from the chair nearest them, "I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry." **

"Ahhh, back when braking rules were my biggest problems"

**A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink bathrobe and a frown. **

"The only time I've seen you in pink", Ron said

"**You!" said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!" **

"**I almost told your brother," Hermione snapped, "Percy — he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this." **

**Harry couldn't believe anyone could be so interfering.**

"I was"

"Sorry"

"What is this? Apologize for everything you've ever done to/said to/thought about someone?" Ginny wondered.

"**Come on," he said to Ron. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole. **

**Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Ron through the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry goose. **

"How do you know how that sounds?" Darcy wondered.

"That's a long story which I am not going to tell."

"**Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves, I don't want Slytherin to win the house cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells." **

"**Go away." **

"**All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so —"**

"Someone tell me why I thought this as the punishment for breaking curfew?"

**But what they were, they didn't find out. Hermione had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get back inside and found herself facing an empty painting. The Fat Lady had gone on a nighttime visit and Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor tower. **

"She always does that at the worst times", the Gryffindor pranksters muttered angrily.

"**Now what am I going to do?" she asked shrilly. **

"**That's your problem," said Ron. "We've got to go, we're going to be late." **

**They hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Hermione caught up with them. **

"**I'm coming with you," she said. **

"Wait-"  
>"What?"<p>

"**You are not." **

"**D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up."**

"Did you think-"  
>"That would work?"<p>

"**You've got some nerve —" said Ron loudly. **

"**Shut up, both of you!" said Harry sharply. "I heard something." **

**It was a sort of snuffling. **

"**Mrs. Norris?" breathed Ron, squinting through the dark. **

**It wasn't Mrs. Norris. It was Neville.**

"Whyyyyyyyy?" Regulus wondered.

**He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked suddenly awake as they crept nearer. **

"**Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed." **

"You've got a really bad memory", Lily worried.

"Well, I got one or two BEEEEEP when my BEEEEEP were BEEEEEEP."

"**Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere." **

"**How's your arm?" said Harry. **

Lily, Tonks and Darcy cooed.

"**Fine," said Neville, showing them. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute." **

"**Good — well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later —" **

"**Don't leave me!" said Neville, scrambling to his feet, "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already." **

"The Bloody Baron is scary", Regulus admitted.

**Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Hermione and Neville. **

"**If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you." **

"You mean MY BEP BEEEP Curse?"

"Yes"

**Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies,**

"You assumed correctly."

**but Harry hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward. **

**They flitted along corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows.**

"Sounds majestic", Clint breathed.

**At every turn Harry expected to run into Filch or Mrs. Norris, but they were lucky. They sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed toward the trophy room. **

**Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet.**

"Nor were we coming."

**The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Harry took out his wand in case Malfoy leapt in and started at once. The minutes crept by. **

"Go back to bed", the troublemakers advised.

"**He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered. **

**Then a noise in the next room made them jump. Harry had only just raised his wand when they heard someone speak — and it wasn't Malfoy. **

"**Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."**

"FILCH!" Fred yelled.

**It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. Horror-struck, Harry waved madly at the other three to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently toward the door, away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped round the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room. **

"**They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding." **

"No, really? Here I was thinking they went to Narnia", Tony commented sarcastically.

"**This way!" Harry mouthed to the others and, petrified, they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armor. They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armor. **

"Bad luck", Clint muttered.

**The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle. **

Percy thought a second. "...No, no it wasn't"

"**RUN!" Harry yelled, and the four of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following — they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Harry in the lead, without any idea where they were or where they were going — they ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room. **

"That's a new one, thanks", Remus said writing it down.

"**I think we've lost him," Harry panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead. Neville was bent double, wheezing and spluttering. **

"**I —told — you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I — told — you."**

"Not the best time for an 'I-told-you-so'!" Hermione admitted.

"**We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible." **

"**Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to Harry. "You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you — Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off." **

"I did"

**Harry thought she was probably right, but he wasn't going to tell her that.**

"That was good of you."

"**Let's go." **

**It wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them. **

**It was Peeves. He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight. **

"Peeves!" exclaimed the people who like him at the same time.

"**Shut up, Peeves — please — you'll get us thrown out." **

**Peeves cackled. **

"**Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty." **

"Urgh, as much as I like him, I hate his poems," James sighed.

"**Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please." **

"**Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know." **

"**Get out of the way," snapped Ron,**

"Mistake there little brother."

"Technically, I'm older than you now."

**taking a swipe at Peeves this was a big mistake. **

"**STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!" **

"See, that's what happens."

**Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door — and it was locked. **

"The forbidden corridor?" Bruce and Tony chorused.

"**This is it!" Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!" **

"So my husband isn't the only pessimist...you learn new things every day."

**They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts. **

"**Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, "Alohomora!" **

"That's not a first year spell, is it?" Percy tried to remember.

"It isn't. It's second year", Hermione informed him.

**The lock clicked and the door swung open — they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening. **

"**Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me." **

"**Say 'please.'" **

"Oh, this is gonna be good", the Gryffindor pranksters leaned forwards in their seats.

"**Don't mess with me, Peeves, now where did they go?" **

"**Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying singsong voice. **

"**All right —please." **

"**NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!"**

The pranksters laughed and the rest rolled their eyes.

Sirius whipped fake tears from his eyes and said: "I love this guy."

**And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage. **

"**He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be okay — get off, Neville!"**

"What? Clint asked in confusion.

**For Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of Harry's bathrobe for the last minute. "What?" **

**Harry turned around — and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment, he was sure he'd walked into a nightmare — this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far. **

"It was nothing", Harry dismissed.

"I'd like to disagree", Neville said with the other Golden Trio members nodding in agreement.

**They weren't in a room, as he had supposed. They were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor.**

"We were right!", Tony exclaimed.

**And now they knew why it was forbidden. **

"Oh no", Lily groaned.

The Weasley Twins, Remus, Sirius and Arthur gave them thumbs up.

James looked torn unsure what to do or think.

**They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog,**

"Well, that's not that bad", Sirius stated.

"I wasn't finished", Lily snapped.

**a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor.**

"Oh. I take that back."

**It had three heads.**

"A Cerberus? In a school?" Regulus wondered deeply shocked.

**Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs. **

"RUN!" yelled everyone who had never been in the corridor while it was forbidden.

**It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.**

"RUN!" everybody repeated.

**Harry groped for the doorknob — between Filch and death, he'd take Filch. **

"Thank Merlin", Lily whispered inaudible.

**They fell backward — Harry slammed the door shut, and they ran, they almost flew, back down the corridor. Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else, because they didn't see him anywhere,**

"At least a bit luck", Sirius smiled.

**but they hardly cared — all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster.**

"Good", their parents chorused.

**They didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor.**

"Wow, that's a long way", Percy commented astounded.

"**Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, looking at their bathrobes hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty faces. **

"Why does she suddenly care?" the Marauders wondered.

"**Never mind that — pig snout, pig snout," panted Harry, and the portrait swung forward. They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling, into armchairs. **

"I probably would have to", Jane said.

**It was a while before any of them said anything. Neville, indeed, looked as if he'd never speak again. **

"It wasn't that bad."

"I was, Nev. I was", Harry disagreed.

"**What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Ron finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does." **

Everyone but Severus and Natasha were laughing.

**Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again. "You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?" **

"The floor?" most guessed.

"Not the floor?" Natasha, Bruce, Remus and Tony argued.

"**The floor?" Harry suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads." **

"I was too afraid to look up to be honest."

"**No, not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something." **

"The BEEEEEEEEEP's BEEEP", Tony assumed. He read the front.

"Looks like you're right"

**She stood up, glaring at them. **

"**I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed — or worse, expelled.**

"I'm happy you sorted your priorities", Tonks and Darcy agreed with each other.

**Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed." **

"Probably the best thing you can do", Lily and Molly stated.

**Ron stared after her, his mouth open. **

"**No, we don't mind," he said. "You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you." **

"Kind of", Darcy thought out loud.

**But Hermione had given Harry something else to think about as he climbed back into bed. The dog was guarding something… What had Hagrid said? Gringotts was the safest place in the world for something you wanted to hide — except perhaps Hogwarts. **

"No Hogwarts isn't exactly the safest place ever", Ron muttered.

**It looked as though Harry had found out where the grubby little package from vault seven hundred and thirteen was. **

"End of the Chapter", Lily finished, "Who's next?"

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, I have to go to school now<strong>

**~Marvelgeek42**


	11. Halloween

**Heyy,**

**MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!**

**I intent the next Chapter to be a break, but I have like zero ideas. So, unless you want the next Chapter to be like 'They were eating the pizza and talked', please give me any ideas you have, so I have them talking. I'll even credit you.**

**TRUE EXAMPLE:  
>It was the idea of <em>PotterVengerLock<em> that Fred should read.**

**Just in case any one is interested in my choice of name for the mentioned OC, Jamie Garfield, I was watching _The Amazing Spiderman: Rise of Electro_ while writing that part and that are the actor's names. **

**Thank you Luke Amranvor for being my bet**

**Guest: Thank you here is the next one!**

* * *

><p>"I will", Fred volunteered, "<strong>Halloween<strong>. That was when the Golden Trio was formed, wasn't it?"

The people in question nodded.

"Great I always wanted to know what happened."

**Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts the next day,**

Draco sighed. "You got that right."

**looking tired but perfectly cheerful. Indeed, by the next morning Harry and Ron thought that meeting the three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure,**

Lily glared at James: "He got that from you."

This action was mimicked by Molly and Arthur.

**and they were quite keen to have another one. In the meantime, Harry filled Ron in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection. **

"**It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron. **

"Or both", James suggested.

"**Or both," said Harry. **

"You all need to stop copying me. It's sort of creepy."

**But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues. **

"I know what it is. And its way more obvious than you think."

"Give us a clue", the archer begged the engineer.

Tony thought about a hint that would give basically nothing away. "Au."

Bruce was the only one able to connect the dots with this. "The BEEEEEEEEEP's BEEEP made by BEEEEEP BEEEEP!"

"Wow even Hermione needed more clues", Ron chuckled.

"Well, I was twelve!"

**Neither Neville nor Hermione showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor. All Neville cared about was never going near the dog again. **

Lily sighed, "And I wish you were like that too."

"Won't happen", Remus stated, "Both of you are to curious."

**Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus.**

Harry quickly apologized, but Ron missed the hint.

"OW!" yelled Ron.

**All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Malfoy, and to their great delight, just such a thing arrived in the mail about a week later. **

"The BEEEP", Tony guessed.

**As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by a long, thin package carried by six large screech owls.**

"Wow, no one will notice this package", Clint commented sarcastically.

**Harry was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large parcel**

"Hmmm, I wonder whose parcel this could be", Bruce pretended to think, even stroking an imaginary beard.

**and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of him,**

"BEEEP" assumed Bruce, Remus and Regulus.

**knocking his bacon to the floor.**

"That poor bacon", Sirius and Ron sobbed.

The worst thing (or what caused everyone else to laugh, your pick) was that they were completely honest.

**They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel. **

**Harry ripped open the letter first, which was lucky, because it said: **

_**DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE. **_

"Yeah, it was good that you opened the letter first", Jane laughed.

_**It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session.**_

_**Professor McGonagall **_

**Harry had difficulty hiding his glee**

"I can imagine", Lily smiled, looking at the Marauders who were bouncing up and down. Well, James and Sirius were.

**as he handed the note to Ron to read. **

"**A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even touched one." **

"Of course not, they just came out that year", Percy groaned.

**They left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private before their first class,**

"As would these two...children", Remus chuckled, pointing at the other Marauders.

**but halfway across the entrance hall they found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy seized the package from Harry and felt it. **

The current one looked tempted to bang his head against anything hard. Again.

"**That's a broomstick," he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them." **

"Oh, I'm looking forward to this", Tony said rubbing his hands.

**Ron couldn't resist it. **

"I expected nothing else", laughed Ginny.

"**It's not any old broomstick," he said, "It's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?"**

"The current one...in our time is the Comet Four Twenty", Sirius informed the others whether they cared or not. Most did not.

**Ron grinned at Harry. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus." **

"Or the current ones", Ron added grinning.

"**What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Malfoy snapped back.**

"Sorry sorry sorry"

Fred continued reading over Draco's apologies.

"**I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig."**

Everyone from the past and the muggles were wondering why the Weasleys and Draco became accepting of each other, whereas Teddy wondered why Draco had ever been this rude to the rest of their large family.

**Before Ron could answer, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's elbow. **

"Wait. Do you honestly want to tell me that the Charms Professor only reaches to the elbow of an eleven year old?" Tony laughed.

"**Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he squeaked. **

"No, of course not! How dare you to suggest such a foul thing!" Regulus joked.

"Oi! I wanted to do that one", George huffed.

"**Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy quickly. **

"Tattletale", George muttered still insulted. Or pretending to be at least.

"**Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?" **

"Oh, I love his response", Tony said, wiping a (fake) tear from his eye.

"**A Nimbus Two Thousand, it is," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy's face.**

"I would have laughed", Draco admitted with a surprisingly high part of the room agreeing.

"**And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it," he added. **

"Ah, there is your Slytherin part."

**Harry and Ron headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Malfoy's obvious rage and confusion. **

"Ah, I knew that you wouldn't have been able to resist."

"**Well, it's true," Harry chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase, "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouldn't be on the team…" **

"Which might be true but shouldn't be taken as example", Lily advised.

"**So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?" came an angry voice from just behind them.**

"Hermione", everyone but Severus and Loki chorused.

**Hermione was stomping up the stairs, looking disapprovingly at the package in Harry's hand. **

"I was a bit obsessed with rules", the woman I question admitted, daring anyone to correct her.

"**I thought you weren't speaking to us?" said Harry. **

"**Yes, don't stop now;" said Ron, "it's doing us so much good."**

After a few seconds to give him time to apologize, Hermione, Ginny and Tonks hit Ron on the head.

"OW! Stop that!"

**Hermione marched away with her nose in the air.**

Hermione stared muttering under her breath. The ones with above average hearing could understand singe words like "Moron", "never" and "friends"

**Harry had a lot of trouble keeping his mind on his lessons that day.**

"Understandable", Steve agreed.

**It kept wandering up to the dormitory where his new broomstick was lying under his bed, or straying off to the Quidditch field where he'd be learning to play that night.**

"So we finally get to know what this is." Clint grinned.

**He bolted his dinner that evening without noticing what he was eating, and then rushed upstairs with Ron to unwrap the Nimbus Two Thousand at last. **

James stated that he would have done the same.

"**Wow," Ron sighed, as the broomstick rolled onto Harry's bedspread. **

**Even Harry, who knew nothing about the different brooms, thought it looked wonderful. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold near the top. **

Sirius was excited. "Sounds great! And I will just have to wait...how many years, BEEEP?"

Remus sighed: "Sixteen years BEEEEEP, sixteen years."

"Okay, what would their names spoil?" Tony asked.

As an answer, Harry held up three fingers.

**As seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry left the castle and set off in the dusk toward the Quidditch field. Harry never had been inside the stadium before.**

"Obviously", Severus sneered.

Lily slapped him. "Stop this, Sev."

**Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the field so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end of the field were three golden poles with hoops on the end.**

"Like this little plastic sticks children blow bubbles through?" Darcy asked.

Harry stared at her.

"What?"

"Fred", Harry commanded.

**They reminded Harry of the little plastic sticks Muggle children blew bubbles through,**

"This is getting really creepy", Jane stage whispered.

Tony, Darcy, Clint and some more looked at each other and said: "Nah"

**except that they were fifty feet high. **

"Yeah, just a small difference. Barely noticeable", Neville smiled.

**Too eager to fly again to wait for Wood, Harry mounted his broomstick and kicked off from the ground.**

Lily smiled. As did James.

**What a feeling — he swooped in and out of the goal posts and then sped up and down the field. The Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch. **

Sirius repeatedly muttered to himself: "Just 16 years. Just 16 years."

"**Hey, Potter, come down!" **

"My husband", Katie smiled.

**Oliver Wood had arrived.**

"See?"

"No one doubted you"

**He was carrying a large wooden crate under his arm. Harry landed next to him. **

"**Very nice," said Wood, his eyes glinting. "I see what McGonagall meant… you really are a natural. I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week." **

"Back when practice was only three times a week"; Fred sighed

"Not more",

"Good times..."

"Yes he might have been a tad obsessed, I' admit that."

**He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls. **

"**Right," said Wood. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers." **

"Me", said Katie, James and Ginny raising their hands.

"**Three Chasers," Harry repeated, as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a soccer ball. **

"Which reminds me, J booked cards for a soccer game which promises to be entertaining for Ron...and anyone here who wants to join." invited Tony.

"**This ball's called the Quaffle,"**

They had to interrupt reading because all muggles had to try out the sound of that.

Yes, even Natasha, but only once and she'd never admit it.

**said Wood. "The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Follow me?" **

"So far", Darcy nodded.

"A bit like basketball", Clint compared.

"Aw, you've gotta be kidding me!"

"**The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score," Harry recited. "So — that's sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops, isn't it?"**

"This is really getting ridiculous."

"**What's basketball?" said Wood curiously. **

"**Never mind," said Harry quickly. **

"Good. Otherwise he'd have another sport to obsess about back than", George laughed, "Now, I don't care, but back than that would have been hell three times over."

"**Now, there's another player on each side who's called the Keeper — I'm Keeper for Gryffindor. I have to fly around our hoops and stop the other team from scoring." **

"Well, that position has", Clint stopped as he noticed Natasha's glare, "Okay, I like living, I'll stop."

"**Three Chasers, one Keeper," said Harry, who was determined to remember it all. "And they play with the Quaffle. Okay, got that. So what are they for?" He pointed at the three balls left inside the box. **

"**I'll show you now," said Wood. "Take this." **

**He handed Harry a small club, a bit like a short baseball bat. **

"Wait...Quidditch is like the combined version of the three most popular sports – baseball, soccer and basketball – on broomsticks", Tony pointed out with Bruce nodding along.

"**I'm going to show you what the Bludgers do," Wood said. "These two are the Bludgers." **

"They sound...painful", Jane said.  
>"They are", replied everyone who had ever been hurt by one.<p>

**He showed Harry two identical balls, jet black and slightly smaller than the red Quaffle. Harry noticed that they seemed to be straining to escape the straps holding them inside the box. **

"They...move..." Steve stuttered.

"**Stand back," Wood warned Harry. He bent down and freed one of the Bludgers. **

**At once, the black ball rose high in the air and then pelted straight at Harry's face. Harry swung at it with the bat to stop it from breaking his nose, and sent it zigzagging away into the air — it zoomed around their heads and then shot at Wood, who dived on top of it and managed to pin it to the ground. **

"Oh, my goodness, this game sounds awesome", Darcy exclaimed.

"**See?" Wood panted, forcing the struggling Bludger back into the crate and strapping it down safely. "The Bludgers rocket around, trying to knock players off their brooms. That's why you have two Beaters on each team — the Weasley twins are ours**

Fred paused looked at his older twin brother and smiled.

Both of them bowed at the same time.

— **it's their job to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them toward the other team. So — think you've got all that?" **

"**Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the goal posts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team," Harry reeled off. **

"Good memory", Tony and Lily complimented.

"**Very good," said Wood. **

"**Er — have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?"**

"Did they?" Lily asked worried.

**Harry asked, hoping he sounded offhand. **

"**Never at Hogwarts.**

"But somewhere else!?", exclaimed a worried Bruce.

"In August 1778 Quidditch World Cup – how come that's not 'Beep'-ed – well final game was America vs. England. All four Beaters had lost someone in the American War of Independence. It was a bloody game. And I'm not swearing", Teddy explained.

Tonks and Remus swelled with pride at their future son's knowledge.

**We've had a couple of broken jaws but nothing worse than that. Now, the last member of the team is the Seeker. That's you. And you don't have to worry about the Quaffle or the Bludgers —" **

"Unless they crack his head open", Lily worried.

"Not you too", Harry groaned.

"— **unless they crack my head open." **

"**Don't worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers — I mean, they're like a pair of human Bludgers themselves."**

The Weasley twins gaped.

George was seriously – no, Siriusly – wondering, if he was dreaming. Fred, the Marauders (apart from the traitor which he didn't mind at all), Fred and Wood complimenting him.

And Fred

It sounded too good to be true.

Especially the part about Fred.

**Wood reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last ball. Compared with the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny, about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering silver wings. **

"It looks kinda cute", Darcy commented.

"**This," said Wood, "is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get it before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win.**

"Remember the 'nearly'", Fred joked.

"Darn, you're getting good with this avoiding my charm thing."

**That's why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages — I think the record is three months,**

"Really?" wondered every muggle.

"Yep", confirmed Teddy, "May until July 1921. Russia against France. Both of the Seekers and replacements got hit with a Confundus Charm every time they were close to catching it. Additionally, the replacements weren't properly trained and the France Seeker lost his glasses and refused to replace them, BEEEP them or heal his eyes with magic for whatever reason. In the end the game ended 1946829360 to 2846731740 in favor of Russia."

Natasha had to hide a smile that her country won.

She managed it perfectly.

**they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep. **

"**Well, that's it any questions?" **

**Harry shook his head. He understood what he had to do alright; it was doing it that was going to be the problem. **

"Not", disagreed Katie.

"**We won't practice with the Snitch yet," said Wood, carefully shutting it back inside the crate, "it's too dark, we might lose it. Let's try you out with a few of these." **

**He pulled a bag of ordinary golf balls**

"So that's what they are!" exclaimed Sirius, "Some dude brought the about a decade ago and since then Gryffindor Seekers are trained with them. Either no one figured out what they are, or someone did but didn't tell anyone."

**out of his pocket and a few minutes later, he and Harry were up in the air, Wood throwing the golf balls as hard as he could in every direction for Harry to catch. **

**Harry didn't miss a single one,**

James cheered.

"Our current one, Jamie Garfield missed ten", Remus added.

"Charlie missed three", Percy informed the room.

**and Wood was delighted. After half an hour, night had really fallen and they couldn't carry on. **

"Not that Oliver wouldn't have tried, but McGonagall threatened him with one month Quidditch ban", Harry laughed.

"**That Quidditch Cup'll have our name on it this year,"**

Harry smiled guilty causing the wizards, witches and Dudley to glare at him.

"Not your fault", Dudley and Draco said at the same time.

**said Wood happily as they trudged back up to the castle. "I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley, and he could have played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons." **

"Charlie really broke his heart doing that", Percy sighed, "I know, cause I had to listen."

**Perhaps it was because he was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of all his homework, but Harry could hardly believe it when he realized that he'd already been at Hogwarts two months. The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive ever had.**

Dudley looked down. "Not that we made this a difficult choice."

**His lessons, too, were becoming more and more interesting now that they had mastered the basics. **

Ron stared at Harry.

"What?" Harry replied, "I wasn't in the top five of our year's BEEP scores for nothing."

**On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom.**

"I'm sure Trevor enjoyed that."

"As am I, Luna, as am I", Neville answered.

**Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Harry's partner was Seamus Finnigan (which was a relief, because Neville had been trying to catch his eye).**

"Before you start apologizing, I know, I was bad."

**Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this.**

"I was", both of them confirmed simultaneously.

**She hadn't spoken to either of them since the day Harry's broomstick had arrived. **

"I'm sorry."

"**Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too**

"For the learning progress", Harry added.

— **never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest." **

"Lie", chorused all magical pranksters but Loki.

**It was very difficult. Harry and Seamus swished and flicked, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skyward just lay on the desktop. Seamus got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and set fire to it — Harry had to put it out with his hat. **

"So that's what they're good for", Sirius laughed.

**Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck. **

"**Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill. **

Everyone who had a clue what Ron did wrong laughed hard, while those who didn't stared at them confused and Ron impersonated a tomato.

Two or three minutes later they continued.

"**You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long." **

"**You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled. **

"Bad thing to say."

"She'll take it as a challenge."

"Believe us, we speak from experience."

Pepper and Betty were standing at the door.

"Pepper!"

"Betty!"

**Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!" **

**Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads. **

"**Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!" **

**Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of the class. **

"**It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "she's a nightmare, honestly." **

"RONALD WEASLEY!"

"FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME, SHE MARRIED ME. I THINK SHE FORGAVE ME."

**Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. Harry caught a glimpse of her face — and was startled to see that she was in tears. **

"Aw, poor eleven-year-old you", Jane cooed.

"**I think she heard you." **

"**So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed she's got no friends." **

"RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY! I DO NOT CARE SHE MARRIED YOU, YOU WILL APOLOGZE RIGHT ON THIS INSTANT!" Molly yelled.

"OW! OW! OW! Yeah, I'm sorry Mon- Hermione."

**Hermione didn't turn up for the next class**

"And that's the second when Harry started worrying more about her", Neville told the room.

Lily looked proud of this (and James to … a bit).

**and wasn't seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone. Ron looked still more awkward at this,**

"Good", muttered Molly.

**but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione out of their minds. **

"You don't dare to apologize", Ginny warned Harry who had already opened his mouth.

**A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet. **

"That reminds me. Didn't we order pizza?" Darcy wondered.

"The pizzas are on the way Ms. Lewis."

"Thank you, JARVIS"

**Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped, "Troll — in the dungeons — thought you ought to know." **

"WHAT", roared Lily, Remus, James, Molly, Arthur, Regulus, Severus and the muggles yelled.

**He then sank to the floor in a dead faint. **

"Isn't he supposed to be the brave one that defeats the troll? Or did I misunderstand something", Betty asked.

"No, he's SUPPOSED to be that kind of guy. Key word being supposed", Ron replied.

**There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence. **

"**Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!" **

"Wow, great idea", Regulus huffed, "The troll's in the dungeons. And guess where the Slytherin common room is?"

"Hufflepuff isn't exactly far away either", Tonks added concerned.

"Slytherin and Hufflepuff were led to the library."

**Percy was in his element. **

"**Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!" **

"I was an arrogant fool."

"**How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs. **

"**Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke." **

"PEEVES WOULD NEVER DO THAT!" the Marauders and twins defended their friends."

**They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Harry suddenly grabbed Ron's arm. **

"**I've just thought — Hermione." **

"**What about her?" **

Ron held his hands up (finally getting it). "I'msorryIwasamoronpleasedon'thitme"

"**She doesn't know about the troll." **

**Ron bit his lip. **

"**Oh, all right," he snapped. "But Percy'd better not see us." **

"Because he'd not let us go and it would have taken too long to get a teacher", Harry answered the unspoken question.

**Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them. **

"**Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry behind a large stone griffin. **

The man in question was confused. "Errr, no"

**Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape.**

"What? Why are you there?" Sirius wanted to know.

"How exactly am I supposed to know?!"

**He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view. **

"**What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"**

"That's what I'd like to know", Sirius muttered.

"**Search me." **

**Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps. **

"**He's heading for the third floor," Harry said, but Ron held up his hand. **

Severus paled. _What is my future self doing near that corridor? Or better yet, in Hogwarts?_

The same question was asked out loud by different people, but no one knew the answer.

"**Can you smell something?" **

**Harry sniffed and a foul stench reached his nostrils, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean. **

Everyone but Natasha went "Ewwww".

**And then they heard it — a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed — at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving toward them.**

Lily and Molly hyperventilated.

"I THOUGHT THAT TROLL WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE DUNGEINS, NOT IN THE THIRD FLOOR!" James yelled.

**They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight. **

**It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long. **

"Okay, I never want to see or smell a troll", Jane declared.

**The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room. **

"**The keys in the lock," Harry muttered. "We could lock it in." **

"Why do I have the feeling that it's not a good idea?", Bruce wondered.

"Because it wasn't", Hermione answered.

"**Good idea," said Ron nervously. **

**They edged toward the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn't about to come out of it. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the key, slam the door, and lock it. **

"**Yes!" **

**Flushed with their victory, they started to run back up the passage, but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop — a high, petrified scream — and it was coming from the chamber they'd just chained up. **

"Hermione!" Tony and Bruce concluded a bit worried, but not too much. She was in the same room as them after all.

"**Oh, no," said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron. **

"**It's the girls' bathroom!" Harry gasped. **

"**Hermione!" they said together. **

**It was the last thing they wanted to do,**

"I should hope so."

**but what choice did they have? Wheeling around, they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in their panic. Harry pulled the door open and they ran inside.**

"Typical Gryffindor", Regulus laughed.

"And what would you have done?" Sirius asked.

"Depending who's inside"_ You and/or Kreacher vs someone else,_ Regulus finished in his head.

**Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went. **

Some of the girls looked over to Hermione in concern but she dismissed it with a wave of her hand.

"Compared to later that's nothing."

"Still. You were eleven!" Betty protested.

"Twelve", Hermione corrected.

"**Confuse it!" Harry said desperately to Ron, and, seizing a tap, he threw it as hard as he could against the wall. **

**The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry.**

Lily was as pale as snow.

James started to comfort her quietly. ("He's here, he survived. No permanent injuries.")

**It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went. **

"**Oi, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout toward Ron instead, giving Harry time to run around it.**

Now Arthur was doing the same to Molly.

"**Come on, run, run!" Harry yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her toward the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror. **

"Not a good time for this", Remus worried.

**The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started toward Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape. **

Molly clung to Ron.

"I obviously made it out Mom!"

**Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid: He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind.**

"That's what you meant with practice!" Tony remembered.

**The troll couldn't feel Harry hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its nose, and Harry's wand had still been in his hand when he'd jumped – it had gone straight up one of the troll's nostrils.**

"Ewww." You know who said that.

If not I'll give you a clue.

Everyone but Natasha who just made a face.

**Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him off or catch him a terrible blow with the club. **

**Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright; Ron pulled out his own wand — not knowing what he was going to do he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: "Wingardium Leviosa!" **

"Next time, please use a spell you can do, okay?" Lily pleaded.

**The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, turned slowly over — and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto its owner's head. The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble. **

Everyone was relieved, even though they knew they would be well.

"It worked", James let out the air he was holding.

Those who knew what it takes to defeat a troll were impressed.

**Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done. **

**It was Hermione who spoke first. **

"**Is it — dead?" **

"Probably not", Sirius presumed.

"**I don't think so," said Harry, "I think it's just been knocked out." **

**He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy gray glue. **

"**Urgh — troll boogers." **

Yet again everyone 'eww'ed

**He wiped it on the troll's trousers. **

"Better than on yours", Lily shrugged.

**A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room,**

"_Now_, they arrive", James groaned.

**closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart. **

"Something is ser- extremely wrong with that guy", Tony stated.

**Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and Harry. Harry had never seen her look so angry. Her lips were white. Hopes of winning fifty points for Gryffindor faded quickly from Harry's mind. **

"Well, what you did was brave and kind. Yet it was impossibly dangerous..." Remus was conflicted.

"**What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Harry looked at Ron, who was still standing with his wand in the air. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?" **

"'Cause of Harry's saving-people-thing."

**Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look. Harry looked at the floor. He wished Ron would put his wand down. **

**Then a small voice came out of the shadows. **

"Hermione"

"**Please, Professor McGonagall — they were looking for me." **

"**Miss Granger!" **

**Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last. **

"**I went looking for the troll because I — I thought I could deal with it on my own — you know, because I've read all about them." **

"I didn't know about this. Why didn't I know about this? Couldn't you just say something like 'Remember back in year 1 when Hermione lied to McGonagall' or something?" George rambled.

**Ron dropped his wand.**

"Which made it look like the real story" Loki commented.

**Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher? **

"**If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived." **

"Well, that part is true."

**Harry and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them. **

"**Well — in that case…" said Professor McGonagall, staring at the three of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?" **

"She believed you!?" everyone who tried to lie to the Head of Gryffindor wondered.

**Hermione hung her head. Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets. **

Loki smiled.

A second later Severus was handing out sweets which apparently appeared out of nowhere.

You could see that he did not enjoy it, opposing to the Marauders and the Weasley twins who laughed themselves silly.

"**Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses." **

**Hermione left. **

"I still can't believe she accepted that", Fred breathed.

**Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and Ron. **

"**Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go." **

**They hurried out of the chamber and didn't speak at all until they had climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the troll, quite apart from anything else. **

"**We should have gotten more than ten points," Ron grumbled. **

"Five", Tony corrected.

"**Five, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's." **

"**Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind you, we did save her." **

Bruce opened his mouth but Harry stopped him from saying anything.

"**She might not have needed saving if we hadn't locked the thing in with her," Harry reminded him. **

**They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. **

"**Pig snout," they said and entered. **

"Who chooses the passwords?" Clint wondered.

**The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up. Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause.**

"I can imagine."

**Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said "Thanks," and hurried off to get plates. **

**But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them. **

"I guess."

"That's how you became friends?!" Lily wondered, hoping Harry would at least make one friend in a way which involved neither danger nor food.

"Chapter's finished."

"Sir, the pizzas have arrived", JARVIS voice rang through the room.

"Pay him, J. Sounds like a good time for a break. Also I'm starving."

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: don't own. to tired to say more<strong>

**Going to bed now**

**Marvelgeek42**


	12. Unknown Connections

**Hello!**

**This hapter is not as long as the others, but still longer than my usual.**

**The Credits are below, because otherwise basically everything was spoiled.**

**Thank you Luke Amranvor, for sacrificing the time to be my beta.**

* * *

><p>Tony, Bruce and Clint went down to get the pizza. They all had to go due to the enormous number of pizzas required for Steve, Thor and all of the guests. Also Tony had a tendency to order more than needed so that he could live on them (and coffee and the occasional burger) until the next order.<p>

When they stepped out of the lift, they were accompanied by no other than, drumroll please, Agent Phil 'Agent' Coulson!

He was greeted enthusiastically by those who knew him (and the pranksters who joined in for the fun of it) and quickly introduced to the others.

They all sat together in smaller and larger groups and started talking about all kinds of things at first.

Later however it progressed in a comparison between the Wizarding World and the non-magical world. Actually more like, the Wizarding World of the 1970s (Marauders & Regulus) vs. the Wizarding World of the 1980s (Tonks) vs. the Wizarding World of the 1990s (Fred) vs. the Wizarding World of the 2010s (Teddy, George, Ron, Percy, Hermione, Arthur, Molly, Ginny, Neville, Luna, Katie, Draco and Harry) vs. Asgard (WARNING: CAPTAIN OBVIOUS ATTACK! Thor and Loki) vs. the non-magical World of the 1940s (If you don't know this please imagine Hermione glaring at you.) vs. the non-magical World of the 1970s (Lily & Severus) vs the non-magical World of the 2010s (Betty, Dudley, Jane, Darcy, Clint, Nat and Coulson) vs the non-magical World of the 2060s aka everywhere Tony Stark was involved (Pepper, Bruce and Tony as they were the only ones who lived with these things long enough to understand how most/all of them worked.), but those in the first sentence were the main points.

"Did you even _have_ toast in the forties?" Tony wondered.

"Yes we did", Steve retorted, "We just didn't have an AI in a 16-slice toaster."

The toaster in question was currently being admired by most male Weasleys. Especially Arthur.

"It's not exactly my fault that we need that much toast. Is it?" Tony replied.

"We just use toasting charms", Tonks shrugged.

"There are toasting charms?" Bruce inquired, "I thought no spell has been invented by anyone other than Harry and that Voldemort guy since the 1730s or something. And Voldemort doesn't sound like his primary concern is if his toast is, well, toasted."

"Well, it was actually sort of an accident", Teddy explained, "Wendelin J. Mathersdale was a little – crazy for the lack of a better term – well, she wanted to make a spell to make kneazles white and pink striped, missed somehow and thus invented the toasting spell. I doubt that they spell would have been made public without Wendelin's friend Hannelore Keltingsburgh."

"Really?" Clint asked laughing.

"Yes, that's what happened", Hermione confirmed.

These conversations continued for a while like this.

Although every single witch, wizard and Asgardian, and Steve, admitted that the TV and the internet were awesome inventions.

And that anyone disagreeing was a fool.

"Can I learn how to make potions?" Bruce wondered after a while.

"Well, since you are now legally aware of magic, there isn't really any argument against it", Percy answered.

"I bet you'd love the Wolfsbane potion, Bruce", George grinned, "Hey, isn't the spell working anymore?"

"I ended it for the break", Harry explained, "But don't go into too much detail. You know, my third year."

"I won't explain it at all. There's no way that this 'secret' is safe until then, if I do", George replied.

Tony raised his hand. "Does that mean that I could get textbooks? I mean, I obviously can't do magic, but I want to know the theory!"

"Yes, you could. Theoretically", Hermione agreed.

"Can you bring me some?"

Hermione looked at Pepper who was telling her later without actually speaking.

"Maybe in a year or two, Mr. Stark." Hermione soothed.

"Call me Tony", the billionaire corrected the witch.

Hermione was completely baffled and seemed to have lost her ability to speak. Yes, they had been talking for several hours, but this was the second richest man in the muggle world (the richest being the king of Wakanda and no one had really bothered calculating the wealth of magical families in muggle currency... Mr. Sta-Tony would most likely be about third or fourth if you counted those) offering, not ordering her, to be on first name bases.

During this talk, the Asgardians and Steve had gone to the other end of the room to grab another round of pizza. It was Steve's fifth, Loki's seventh and Thor's eleventh.

"Can you show us some magic?" Darcy begged directed at the magical pranksters.

"You want to see some magic?" Fred smirked as the science bros, Clint and Darcy nodded, "How about some transfiguration?"

The non-magical pranksters and Bruce nodded enthusiastically.

"_Mutatio vestimenta_!" Fred stage whispered pointing his wand at Steve and then repeating the action pointing his wand at each of the Asgardians.

They could watch how their armors changed into...into dresses! Dresses out of all things!

Thor's dress was an elegant long red dress which would under normal circumstances is worn at something like a ball, a gala or a dinner meeting. It looked very strange on the god.

Loki's dress was a green summer dress with gold lines that stopped just over his knees. Had Loki been in his female form at that moment, he would have looked absolutely stunning.

Steve's one was red, white and blue and logically with the obligatory stars and stripes. It reached just over his knees. The dress would have fit right in at one of Tony's parties.

Darcy, James, Sirius, Remus, Tony, Clint, Fred, Bruce and George exploded with laughter.

"J, quick! Take some pics!" Tony ordered and JARVIS immediately did so.

"Now THAT", Clint managed to say between fits of laughter, "Is a kind of magic I enjoy!"

By now the men in question had realized what happened (as did the rest of the room who laughed/smiled) and were either blushing or in Loki's case reverted his clothing back to normal. Although he had considered to shift to his female form.

"I have to admit, mortals, that your prank amuses me", the trickster god smirked, "At least now that I'm not affected anymore."

Fred swelled of pride being complimented by Loki Odinson (Or Laufeyson? Or Friggason? Know what? Let's go with Loki Liesmith), the unofficial god of pranks.

As both Steve and Thor looked like they would run from the room any second Harry sacrificed himself and ended their torture and shot a "_Finite_" towards each of them.

"When it's said that Lily's sister and Dudley were your only family, what happened to my parents?" James asked, turning the mood in the room.

"And mine", Lily added

"Sirius only told me – between fourth and fifth year – that your parents were killed in a Death Eater raid in '79 and that your parents finished five or six Death Eaters in 1980 despite being muggles in their fifties."

"Wait...Coulson, weren't there British SHIELD Agents with the last name Evans who died in the late seventies?" Tony questioned.

Coulson and Pepper sighed.

"Tony, what did I tell you about hacking secret government agencies?" Pepper asked what looked like the thousandth time.

"Not to do, but a) I'll do it anyways and b) this I knew because Dad told me about them when he first introduced me to SHIELD in July '87 when I was seven."

"If that is the case how do you still remember it?" Natasha sneered, clearly not believing the billionaire.

"Ever heard of photographic memory?" Tony asked.

The witches, wizards who were not muggle raised (or married to someone who was) and Asgardians shook their heads. Those who know what it was but not that Tony had one (which was everyone but the genius himself and his girlfriend) stared at him.

"It means you never forget anything. Ever", Bruce explained slowly.

Now the rest of the room stared at him too.

"If we could get back to the original issue", Tony proposed, "You know confirmation if Lily's parents were secret agents or if there happened to be two pairs of kickass Evanses."

"What we – I mean what are your parents first names, Miss Evans?" Coulson asked the red-haired girl.

"My Dad's called Jonathan, but his friends call him John, and my Mom is Rose."

"In that case, yes your parents were or are Agents of SHIELD", Coulson confirmed.

"That's awesome", James was stunned, "I mean, my parents fought in this whole Grindelwald affair during World War II, but spies are way cooler."

"Did I understand this correctly?" Steve asked for clarification, "Your parents fought in the Second World War?"

"Yeah, Charlus and Dorea Potter", James answered while Steve gasped, "Why?"

"I fought in the war too. I met them."

The rest of the room gasped at the coincidence. It was strange how everything seemed connected somehow.

"That is really getting weird", Darcy observed.

No one could disagree.

"Anyways, were did you meet them?", James inquired.

"It was during a mission to destroy one of HYDRA's bases – not that I really did anything else – in Britain..."

Loki did not bother to listen to the mortal's tale. He was thinking hard. What no one knew yet was that he decided to take a vacation. He had chosen to go teaching at Hogwarts for a year, as there was a free spot once a year for about five decades, give or take a few years.

The problem however was, that that was in 1976/1977. So, it would be the next year for the Marauders and their associates. The god of lies was thinking if and how to tell them.

If they could convince his past self about what was currently happening (but would be finished by than), there was a tiny chance, that they could prepare him for what was to come, namely finding out about the truth of his origins, and maybe even stop his invasion.

Wait, what? Since when did Loki Liesmith consider _mortals_ worth enough for a task like this? Or worth enough to be spared of his plans?

"...And that's how I met Charles and Dorea Potter as well as the Canadian James Howlett, Bucky and Dum Dum were stuck in three meters of snow, and Jacques was forced to wear Peggy's most feminine clothing the next time he met a superior outside of our group."

Everyone but the Liesmith and the mortal named Severus were either smiling or outright laughing.

"Am I the only one who noticed the high number of people named James? There's you", Pepper indicated towards James, "Your grandson, that James Howlett and Rhodey."

"And Bucky's real name was James too", Steve added.

"Weird", Jane concluded, "I mean, yeah James is a highly used name, yet it is strange that so many people named James are, at least vaguely, connected."

"This whole comparison reminded me of your cousin, the accountant", Clint told Ron, "What's that guy's name anyways?"

"Marc Knight."

Tony and Pepper looked at each other and then at the Weasley family.

"Marc Knight? As in Marc Benjamin Knight, the head of my law department?", Tony stuttered.

"Yeeeeeeees", Percy answered slowly.

"Everything is connected", Luna said, "Most of the time we just don't notice."

Darcy shrugged.

"That may be, but my daily amount of weirdness has successfully been achieved. So let's just eat, Okay? Okay."

For some odd reason everyone listened to hear until everyone was ready to continue.

"I'll read", Bruce volunteered.

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: Just about nothing is mine. The Characters belong to their respetive owners.<strong>

**The ideas for Bruce wondering about potions and Tony about textbooks were from _Shadow-the-Knight_.**

**The idea of changing the Asgardians and Steve into dresses was from _Manga reader 125_.**

**And just about everything else was based on ideas by the wonderful _Balagor_. You deserve some kind of award.**

**Marvelgeek42**


	13. Quidditch

**Hello!**

_**Mr. G****uy**_**_ (Guest):_ I've gotten into no trouble as of yet, so I'm continuing this.**

_**Guest I: **_**Did you mean you'd like to see a new Chapter or that you like the new Chapter? (If you answer this, please be so kind and refer to yourself as Guest I, okay?)**

_**Guest II: **_**Theoretically, yes it could. Pratically however, as you may have noticed the length of the 'BEEEP' varies in the number of letters used. Each letter actually stands for a letter, like the above could mean 'Magic' but not 'Gryffindor'.**

**This Chapter is dedicated to:**

**_icecatfire_ because he/she was the 300th person who favorited this, **

**_ssj3gohan007_ because by my count he/she was the 100th reviewer ****and**

**_The American Psycho_ because by my count he/she was my 400th follower!**

**You guys (and everyone else reading this) rock!**

**Also as of now, this story is in 8 communities (one of them my own but who cares) and has 61,566 views! And I broke 150 pages in Open Office writer!**

_**Luke Amranvor **_**honest thanks yet again for betaing this.**

**On with the Chapter!**

* * *

><p>"Chapter 11", Bruce read, "<strong>Quidditch<strong>"

**As they entered November, the weather turned very cold.**

"No, really?" Regulus commented sarcastically, "It's only the Scottish winter."

**The mountains around the school became icy gray and the lake like chilled steel.**

"Sounds beautiful", Jane sighed, "especially in comparison to _my_ school in winter..."

Darcy nodded in agreement.

**Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch field,**

"Why would anyone leave their brooms anywhere but in their room in autumn or winter?" James asked.

**bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaver skin boots. **

**The Quidditch season had begun.**

The Quidditch fans cheered. As did the muggles who thought that they are going to be counted in that group soon.

**On Saturday, Harry would be playing in his first match after weeks of training:**

"Gryffindor versus Slytherin", chorused everyone who had spent enough time at Hogwarts to notice the pattern.

**Gryffindor versus Slytherin.**

Bruce interrupted himself: "I assume this combination is always the first?"

Everybody who knew confirmed.

**If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second place in the House Championship.**

The Gryffindors – who weren't mature – cheered.

**Hardly anyone had seen Harry play**

"Keyword", Fred started.

"Seen", George finished.

**because Wood had decided that, as their secret weapon,**

"I still say you can't keep a secret in Hogwarts!" Regulus stated, the (former) students who failed doing this nodding along.

The Marauders, Weasley Twins and both Trios however disagreed, so that Bruce hurried to continue reading so that no fight would break out.

**Harry should be kept, well, secret.**

"No, really! Tasha, we should take notes from Wood!" Clint joked.

**But the news that he was playing Seeker had leaked out somehow, and Harry didn't know which was worse — people telling him he'd be brilliant**

"Why would that be bad?" Sirius asked confused.

"Because", James explained, "If he would not be brilliant, which is totally impossible, but Harry didn't know that, he'd feel like he let them down and they'd all be disappointed.

"Exactly", approved Harry.

**or people telling him they'd be running around underneath him holding a mattress. **

"I can see what you mean", Tony said, but to himself he thought _I've been at similar points countless of times._

**It was really lucky that Harry now had Hermione as a friend. He didn't know how he'd have gotten through all his homework without her,**

"Which was by far not the only reason I was happy for your friendship and is way farther from being the truth now."

**what with all the last-minute Quidditch practice Wood was making them do.**

"Compared to later"

"It was nothing"

**She had also lent him **_**Quidditch Through the Ages**_**,**

"Sirius, think we may have found a book for you to read...when it's published in our time", Remus told his friend.

"I quite agree with you Remi."

"Siri, don't call Remus Remi."

"Silence on the cheap seats Jamie."

**which turned out to be a very interesting read. **

"It was", Ron agreed.

"If Ron has read something, it's gotta be about Quidditch", Ginny laughed. Then she high fived her older brothers.

**Harry learned that there were seven hundred ways of committing a Quidditch foul**

"Really?", Sirius wondered, "I only know 215 and I'm not even allowed to use most of them as Beater."

"There are some really weird, disturbing and/or violent ones like 'Beheading the Keeper with a sword', 'Transforming the Seeker into a goldfish' or 'Accio Snitch'. Which is why weapons and wands are now forbidden on the pitch."

"I can understand why", Jane squeaked.

**and that all of them had happened during a World Cup match in 1473;**

"There were probably several dozen deaths during that match", Bruce assumed.

"42 people died. Not all of them were playing", Teddy answered.

"How on earth can you remember such things?" Betty wondered.

"I study. And I've got a good memory. Also it's Quidditch."

The last part caused all Quidditch addicts to nod along in agreement.

**that Seekers were usually the smallest and fastest players,**

"But not always", corrected every Seeker.

"I knew. It said usually", Tony chuckled.

**and that most serious Quidditch accidents seemed to happen to them;**

"They do?" Lily questioned worried.

"I'm fine."

"That means no permanent physical injuries", Ron translated.

**that although people rarely died playing Quidditch,**

"...now that swords and wands are forbidden", finished Clint.

**referees had been known to vanish and turn up months later in the Sahara Desert.**

"...What?" Pepper inquired, "How did this happen?"

"No one knows", Regulus answered, "Not even the guy who went missing."

**Hermione had become a bit more relaxed about breaking rules since Harry and Ron had saved her from the mountain troll,**

"You are bad influences on her." Tony announced.

"Like you can talk", Pepper snorted.

"What are you talking about? I'm an amazing role model...nowadays."

**and she was much nicer for it. The day before Harry's first Quidditch match**

If you looked at James, you could see him grinning as wide as...as wide as...as wide as Steve did when he first saw homosexual and interracial relationships or people with dark skin sitting in front of the bus. So big that you could have used it as replacement for the sun.

**the three of them were out in the freezing courtyard during break,**

"Why didn't you just go inside?" Tonks wondered.

"Different reasons", Hermione replied.

**and she had conjured them up a bright blue fire that could be carried around in a jam jar.**

All muggles looked stunned.

"Awesome..." Dudley gasped.

**They were standing with their backs to it, getting warm, when Snape crossed the yard.**

Everyone, yes even Loki and Severus himself, groaned.

**Harry noticed at once that Snape was limping.**

"Why is my future self limping? And was it permanent?" Severus wanted to know.

"You'll see and no", Ginny answered.

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved closer together to block the fire from view; they were sure it wouldn't be allowed.**

"They weren't, but are now", Percy stated.

"Good. So at least from whenever-this-was-changed on no one will freeze to death", Remus

**Unfortunately, something about their guilty faces caught Snape's eye.**

"He would have done it anyway", Sirius growled.

**He limped over. He hadn't seen the fire, but he seemed to be looking for a reason to tell them off anyway. **

"See?"

"**What's that you've got there, Potter?" **

**It was Quidditch Through the Ages. Harry showed him. **

"That's nothing you could get in trouble for", Lily said relieved.

"**Library books are not to be taken outside the school,"**

"You just made a rule up just so you could get my son in trouble!?" Lily shrieked.

The Marauders growled and looked like they wanted to attack him.

**said Snape. "Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor."**

"Again this little points?" Ron asked confused.

"**He's just made that rule up," Harry muttered angrily as Snape limped away. "Wonder what's wrong with his leg?" **

"Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him", said Sirius bitterly.

"**Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him," said Ron bitterly. **

"Hey, Hermione is like Remus, Harry like me and Ron's like Sirius. You just need someone like Peter and then you'll have your own BEEEEEEEP."

Everyone who knew what happened growled: "We / they do not need someone like Peter."

**The Gryffindor common room was very noisy that evening.**

"Excuse me, but 'that' evening?" Remus argued, "More like 24/7! Especially with these two."

Sirius and James whistled innocently.

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat together next to a window. Hermione was checking Harry and Ron's Charms homework for them.**

"Thank you for that, even if it's several years too late", Harry said.

"You're welcome."

**She would never let them copy ("How will you learn?"),**

"Good", answered every brainiac but Hermione herself.

**but by asking her to read it through, they got the right answers anyway. **

"Wait...Harry you almost never asked me for my notes, History of Magic excluded, and if you did, you did not have notes yourself, because you were absent, couldn't sleep at all in that night due to your-worse-than-your-normal nightmares or were too worried about something to concentrate. Why did you say this?"

"Let me guess", Bruce growled with a hint of green in his eyes, "His stupid parents", he gestured to Dudley, "forbid you from doing better than him and his grades were bad."

Harry and Dudley nodded slowly, very slowly.

The Marauders, Trios and Lily got up and hexed some newly made Vermin Dursley Dummies TM. Teddy looked like he was seriously considering joining them.

**Harry felt restless. He wanted Quidditch Through the Ages back,**

"I would too", James admitted – if you could call it that.

**to take his mind off his nerves about tomorrow. Why should he be afraid of Snape?**

About twenty-five reasons were yelled by different people and none of them appeared to have bothered Harry. Of course that did not mean his eleven-year-old version would have reacted the same.

**Getting up, he told Ron and Hermione he was going to ask Snape if he could have it. **

"**Better you than me," they said together,**

Everyone laughed.

**but Harry had an idea that Snape wouldn't refuse if there were other teachers listening. **

"That might work..." Lily thought out loud.

**He made his way down to the staffroom and knocked. There was no answer. He knocked again. Nothing. **

**Perhaps Snape had left the book in there? It was worth a try. He pushed the door ajar and peered inside – and a horrible scene met his eyes. **

"Snape and Filch doing it", Darcy yelled.

The majority of the room pretended to gag. Severus blushed and Harry and Bruce (who had read ahead) had a hard time controlling his laughter.

**Snape and Filch were inside, alone.**

Everyone but Bruce and Harry either paled or laughed. Severus looked beyond horrified.

**Snape was holding his robes above his knees.**

"MY POOR POOR MIND!" complained Sirius.

**One of his legs was bloody and mangled. Filch was handing Snape bandages.**

"Next time", James commanded, "You better start with this part!"

"**Blasted thing," Snape was saying. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?" **

"Why were you near that dog?" James asked eying Severus suspiciously.

"How exactly am I supposed to know?"

**Harry tried to shut the door quietly, but — **

"He – or they – caught you?" Tony predicted.

"**POTTER!" **

**Snape's face was twisted with fury as he dropped his robes quickly to hide his leg. Harry gulped. **

"**I just wondered if I could have my book back." **

"That's true Gryffindor courage!" James yelled with pride.

Neville whereas stammered: "You...you did...you actually"

"**GET OUT! OUT! " **

**Harry left, before Snape could take any more points from Gryffindor. He sprinted back upstairs. **

"You got some stamina there", Natasha complimented.

"You managed to get the Black Widow to compliment you. That's a huge achievement", Clint grinned. Natasha immediately slapped him.

"**Did you get it?" Ron asked as Harry joined them. "What's the matter?" **

**In a low whisper, Harry told them what he'd seen. **

"In the censored version", Ron clarified.

"**You know what this means?" he finished breathlessly. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog at Halloween! That's where he was going when we saw him — he's after whatever it's guarding! And I'd bet my broomstick he let that troll in, to make a diversion!" **

Ron and Hermione turned to Harry, but didn't say anything in favor of not spoiling. Had they said something, it would have been: 'You owe me a broomstick.'

**Hermione's eyes were wide. **

"**No — he wouldn't," she said. "I know he's not very nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe." **

There was some disagreement caused by this statement. The Marauders, Tonks and Fred were sure Hermione was wrong, Regulus, Lily and Severus were sure she was right, the Golden Trio and Ginny said nothing and the others were in between.

"**Honestly, Hermione, you think all teachers are saints or something," snapped Ron. "I'm with Harry. I wouldn't put anything past Snape.**

"Sorry", Ron apologized. The muggles and time travelers wondered why.

**But what's he after? What's that dog guarding?" **

Tony and Bruce grinned at each other, while Tonks commented, "That's the million Galleon question, isn't it?"

**Harry went to bed with his head buzzing with the same question.**

"If I was in your place, it would be the same for me", James smiled with Lily nodding along.

**Neville was snoring loudly, but Harry couldn't sleep. He tried to empty his mind**

Ron grinned at him and opened his mouth, but he was stopped by Harry's glare.

— **he needed to sleep, he had to, he had his first Quidditch match in a few hours–**

"Sleep", the Quidditch addicts commanded.

"He's trying to", Lily defended her son.

**but the expression on Snape's face when Harry had seen his leg wasn't easy to forget. **

"I can imagine", Regulus laughed.

**The next morning dawned very bright and cold.**

"Please tell me you slept", Lily pleaded.

"Yeah, a bit", Harry replied.

**The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match. **

"**You've got to eat some breakfast." **

"Yes, you need to", Lily insisted.

"**I don't want anything." **

"Just like Jamsie here", Sirius mocked, "He would never eat something before a match either."

"**Just a bit of toast," wheedled Hermione. **

"**I'm not hungry." **

**Harry felt terrible. In an hour's time he'd be walking onto the field. **

"**Harry, you need your strength," said Seamus Finnigan. "Seekers are always the ones who get clobbered by the other team." **

"That's not what you're supposed to tell someone", Coulson frowned.

"That's Seamus though."

"**Thanks, Seamus," said Harry, watching Seamus pile ketchup on his sausages. **

**By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch.**

"As always", chorused the (former) Hogwarts students.

**Many students had binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air, but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes. **

"Oh, yes it is."

**Ron and Hermione joined Neville, Seamus, and Dean the West Ham fan up in the top row. As a surprise for Harry, they had painted a large banner on one of the sheets Scabbers had ruined.**

Those who knew growled. Those who didn't yet again wondered what the heck caused them to hate a rat like this.

**It said Potter for President, and Dean, who was good at drawing, had done a large Gryffindor lion underneath. Then Hermione had performed a tricky little charm so that the paint flashed different colors. **

"Did I ever thank you for that?"

"Yes, you did Harry. Several dozen times."

**Meanwhile, in the locker room, Harry and the rest of the team were changing into their scarlet Quidditch robes (Slytherin would be playing in green).**

**Wood cleared his throat for silence. **

Those who were at the Quidditch team that year glanced at each other

"Okay, men", Harry started.

"And women", added Katie Wood.

"And women", Harry agreed. "This is it."

"The big one", said Fred Weasley.

"The one we've all been waiting for", said George.

"We know Oliver's speech by heart", Fred told the room, "We were on the team last year."

"Shut up you two", said Harry. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it."

Harry glared at the room as if to say "Or else."

"Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you."

Everyone but Bruce (who again had read ahead) smiled. Bruce laughed.

"**Okay, men," he said. **

"**And women," said Chaser Angelina Johnson. **

"**And women," Wood agreed. "This is it." **

"**The big one," said Fred Weasley. **

"**The one we've all been waiting for," said George. **

By now the pranksters were laughing and everyone else either giggling or chuckling.

"**We know Oliver's speech by heart," Fred told Harry, "we were on the team last year." **

"**Shut up, you two," said Wood. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it." **

**He glared at them all as if to say, "Or else." **

"**Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you." **

By now everyone was outright laughing. The Weasley twins, Katie and Harry stood up and bowed.

**Harry followed Fred and George out of the locker room and, hoping his knees weren't going to give way, walked onto the field to loud cheers. **

"I felt the same", James admitted.

"Really?" Lily questioned, "I thought you were being Mr. Overconfident back then."

"That was just an act."

**Madam Hooch was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand. **

"**Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said,**

"She realizes that that's Slytherin and Gryffindor playing, doesn't she?" Tonks wondered.

"She can still wish for a game with little to no injuries", Pepper defended Madam Hooch.

**once they were all gathered around her. Harry noticed that she seemed to be speaking particularly to the Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint, a sixth year.**

"She was", confirmed everyone who had attended that game and / or previous games with Flint involved.

**Harry thought Flint looked as if he had some troll blood in him.**

"He has", Regulus said.

**Out of the corner of his eye he saw the fluttering banner high above, flashing Potter for President over the crowd. His heart skipped. He felt braver. **

"That's what friends are for."

"**Mount your brooms, please." **

**Harry clambered onto his Nimbus Two Thousand. **

James looked like Easter, Christmas, his Birthday and Halloween were moved to be all on a single day.

**Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle. **

**Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the air. They were off. **

"**And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor — what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too —" **

"Just like Remus' comments", Sirius laughed, "He's the reason why McGonagall sits next to the commentator."

"Luna's are better", Harry argued.

"**JORDAN!" **

"**Sorry, Professor." **

**The Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was doing the commentary for the match, closely watched by Professor McGonagall. **

"Not that that stopped him from giving an awesome commentary", Katie smiled.

"**And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve — back to Johnson and — no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes — Flint flying like an eagle up there — he's going to sc— no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle — that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and — OUCH — that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger — Quaffle taken by the Slytherins — that's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goal posts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger — sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which — nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes — she's really flying — dodges a speeding Bludger — the goal posts are ahead — come on, now, Angelina — Keeper Bletchley dives — misses — GRYFFINDORS SCORE!" **

The less mature Gryffindors cheered loudly.

"That game sounds exciting", Darcy said.

**Gryffindor cheers filled the cold air, with howls and moans from the Slytherins. **

"**Budge up there, move along." **

"**Hagrid!" **

**Ron and Hermione squeezed together to give Hagrid enough space to join them. **

"There was also an empty seat next to us", Hermione added, seeing the confused faces.

"**Bin watchin' from me hut," said Hagrid, patting a large pair of binoculars around his neck, "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?" **

"**Nope," said Ron. "Harry hasn't had much to do yet."**

"Good, so he can't get hurt", Lily let out some of the air she was holding.

"**Kept outta trouble, though, that's somethin'," said Hagrid, raising his binoculars and peering skyward at the speck that was Harry. **

**Way up above them, Harry was gliding over the game, squinting about for some sign of the Snitch. This was part of his and Wood's game plan. **

"**Keep out of the way until you catch sight of the Snitch," Wood had said. "We don't want you attacked before you have to be." **

"Thank your husband from me", Lily told Katie.

"Will do", Katie replied.

**When Angelina had scored, Harry had done a couple of loop-the-loops to let off his feelings. Now he was back to staring around for the Snitch. Once he caught sight of a flash of gold, but it was just a reflection from one of the Weasleys' wristwatches, and once a Bludger decided to come pelting his way, more like a cannonball than anything, but Harry dodged it and Fred Weasley came chasing after it. **

"Thank you!" Lily told Fred.

"Nothing. Harry's like my unofficial second little brother. Who still needs to give a reason why he does not seem to age.." Fred said as he stared at Harry queryingly.

"**All right there, Harry?" he had time to yell, as he beat the Bludger furiously toward Marcus Flint. **

Nearly everyone (all but Loki, Coulson, Natasha and Severus) cheered. Yes, even Regulus. Sirius was by far the loudest, causing Remus to smack him.

"How many times am I going to have to tell you to take my hearing into account?"

Indeed, all people with above average hearing had more or less painful expressions on their faces.

"**Slytherin in possession," Lee Jordan was saying, "Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys,**

Molly glanced at the twins who held their hands up defensively.

**and Chaser Bell, and speeds toward the — wait a moment — was that the Snitch?" **

"Great job announcing this to the whole stadium", Regulus snorted.

**A murmur ran through the crowd as Adrian Pucey dropped the Quaffle, too busy looking over his shoulder at the flash of gold that had passed his left ear. **

"Great Chaser", James applauded sarcastically.

**Harry saw it. In a great rush of excitement he dived downward after the streak of gold. Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs had seen it, too.**

The Gryffindors groaned.

**Neck and neck they hurtled toward the Snitch — all the Chasers seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing as they hung in midair to watch. **

THUMP

"No..don't do this, don't do this", James told...the table.

**Harry was faster than Higgs — he could see the little round ball, wings fluttering, darting up ahead — he put on an extra spurt of speed — **

Every Gryffindor fan cheered and chanted some variation of: "Go Harry!"

**WHAM! A roar of rage echoed from the Gryffindors below — Marcus Flint had blocked Harry on purpose, and Harry's broom spun off course, Harry holding on for dear life. **

"FOUL!" everyone yelled.

"**Foul!" screamed the Gryffindors. **

**Madam Hooch spoke angrily to Flint and then ordered a free shot at the goal posts for Gryffindor. But in all the confusion, of course, the Golden Snitch had disappeared from sight again. **

**Down in the stands, Dean Thomas was yelling, "Send him off, ref! Red card!" **

The purebloods were confused.

"What is a red card?" Sirius asked.

"I thought you take Muggle Studies", Severus sneered.

"Yes, I do. And yes, I pay attention. We haven't had sports yet."

"It's explained in the book", Bruce answered before continuing.

"**What are you talking about, Dean?" said Ron. **

"**Red card!" said Dean furiously. "In soccer you get shown the red card and you're out of the game!" **

"But this isn't soccer", Severus argued.

"They ought to change the rules", Lily disagreed.

Regulus however was on Lily's side. "It would really be a good thing and it would reduce the number of fouls."

"I agree", James said.

"**But this isn't soccer, Dean," Ron reminded him. **

**Hagrid, however, was on Dean's side. **

"**They oughta change the rules. Flint coulda knocked Harry outta the air." **

"Did anyone else notice that this seems to be happening a lot?" Betty wondered.

Everyone raised their hand.

**Lee Jordan was finding it difficult not to take sides. **

"**So — after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating —" **

"Go Lee!" the Weasley twins cheered for their friend.

"**Jordan!" growled Professor McGonagall. **

"**I mean, after that open and revolting foul…"**

"GO LEE!" the pranksters yelled.

"_**Jordan, I'm warning you—" **_

"**All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure,**

"Gotta love Lee's commentary", Fred smiled.

"Remus can you do something like this next time?" Sirius pleaded.

"You mean in the game against Ravenclaw? Sure, if the opportunity presents itself."

**so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinner, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession." **

**It was as Harry dodged another Bludger, which went spinning dangerously past his head, that it happened. His broom gave a sudden, frightening lurch.**

"What?" everyone who had not attended the game yelled.

The Marauders and Lily were as white as a sheet.

**For a split second, he thought he was going to fall. He gripped the broom tightly with both his hands and knees. He'd never felt anything like that. **

"And never again...after that game."

**It happened again. It was as though the broom was trying to buck him off.**

"Brooms don't do that! Why does your broom do that?", if possible James paled even further, "Is someone cursing it?"

**But Nimbus Two Thousands did not suddenly decide to buck their riders off. Harry tried to turn back toward the Gryffindor goal-posts — he had half a mind to ask Wood to call time-out —**

"DO IT!" everyone told him.

**and then he realized that his broom was completely out of his control.**

James and Lily were hugging each other whispering: "He's here" repeatedly.

**He couldn't turn it. He couldn't direct it at all. It was zigzagging through the air, and every now and then making violent swishing movements that almost unseated him. **

**Lee was still commentating. **

"Remus wouldn't...if he noticed."

"**Slytherin in possession — Flint with the Quaffle — passes Spinnet — passes Bell — hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose — only joking, Professor — Slytherins score — oh no…" **

**The Slytherins were cheering. No one seemed to have noticed that Harry's broom was behaving strangely.**

Remus and Sirius growled animal-like.

**It was carrying him slowly higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went. **

"**Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing," Hagrid mumbled. He stared through his binoculars. "If I didn' know better, I'd say he'd lost control of his broom… but he can't have…" **

No one dared to speak.

**Suddenly, people were pointing up at Harry all over the stands. His broom had started to roll over and over, with him only just managing to hold on. Then the whole crowd gasped. Harry's broom had given a wild jerk and Harry swung off it.**

"No", Lily breathed.

**He was now dangling from it, holding on with only one hand. **

Her boyfriend (or nearly boyfriend, no one knew what was currently the case) copied Lily's actions.

"**Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?" Seamus whispered. **

"Not possible", Regulus whispered.

"**Can't have," Hagrid said, his voice shaking. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark magic — no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand." **

"No kid", Tony emphasized.

**At these words, Hermione seized Hagrid's binoculars, but instead of looking up at Harry, she started looking frantically at the crowd. **

"**What are you doing?" moaned Ron, gray-faced. **

"**I knew it," Hermione gasped, "Snape — look." **

Severus paled.

"WHAT!?" James and Sirius stood up and had his wand ready to curse Severus.

"WAIT!" Harry stopped him, and hurrying to think of a reason to explain what he was doing without spoiling everything, "First, he technically hasn't done it yet. Second I think you'll approve of Hermione's punishment for him."

Grudgingly, they sat down again.

**Ron grabbed the binoculars. Snape was in the middle of the stands opposite them. He had his eyes fixed on Harry and was muttering nonstop under his breath. **

Severus shrank in his seat, while it seemed to take the Marauders all self-control to stay seated.

"**He's doing something — jinxing the broom," said Hermione. **

"**What should we do?" **

"**Leave it to me." **

"Uhhh, what is Hermione planning?" Fred wondered.

**Before Ron could say another word, Hermione had disappeared. Ron turned the binoculars back on Harry. His broom was vibrating so hard, it was almost impossible for him to hang on much longer.**

"Please hurry Hermione", pleaded Lily

"I did, Lily"

**The whole crowd was on its feet, watching, terrified, as the Weasleys flew up to try and pull Harry safely onto one of their brooms,**

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you..."

**but it was no good – every time they got near him, the broom would jump higher still. They dropped lower and circled beneath him, obviously hoping to catch him if he fell. Marcus Flint seized the Quaffle and scored five times without anyone noticing.**

"Wow. That's unheard of."

"**Come on, Hermione," Ron muttered desperately. **

**Hermione had fought her way across to the stand where Snape stood, and was now racing along the row behind him; she didn't even stop to say sorry as she knocked Professor Quirrell headfirst into the row in front.**

Hermione looked at the other members of the Golden Trio.

"Do you think he remembered?"

"Don't think so. Good it did happen though."

Remus, Regulus, Loki, Tony, Jane and Bruce took their suspects something was wrong with Quirrell as confirmed. Betty and Natasha began suspecting it too.

**Reaching Snape, she crouched down, pulled out her wand, and whispered a few, well-chosen words. Bright blue flames shot from her wand onto the hem of Snape's robes.**

"You set him on fire? You were right, Harry, I like it", Sirius laughed.

**It took perhaps thirty seconds for Snape to realize that he was on fire. A sudden yelp told her she had done her job. Scooping the fire off him into a little jar in her pocket, she scrambled back along the row — Snape would never know what had happened.**

Someone said: "Had this not happened", but no one knew who (excluding the person who said this).

**It was enough. Up in the air, Harry was suddenly able to clamber back on to his broom. **

Everyone, but Severus who did not dare to and those mature enough who had been there, cheered.

"**Neville, you can look!" Ron said. Neville had been sobbing into Hagrid's jacket for the last five minutes. **

Neville blushed.

"I think it's sweet", Darcy commented.

**Harry was speeding toward the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was about to be sick**

"I probably would be too", Lily said relieved.

— **he hit the field on all fours — coughed — and something gold fell into his hand.**

"No way!"

"**I've got the Snitch!" he shouted, waving it above his head, and the game ended in complete confusion. **

"I can imagine. Catching the snitch with one's mouth. Unheard of!" complimented Regulus.

"**He didn't catch it, he nearly swallowed it," Flint was still howling twenty minutes later, but it made no difference — Harry hadn't broken any rules and Lee Jordan was still happily shouting the results — Gryffindor had won by one hundred and seventy points to sixty.**

"Did this score include Flint's points?" James asked.

"Yes", Percy confirmed.

**Harry heard none of this, though.**

"Why?" Remus wondered, "And how?"

**He was being made a cup of strong tea back in Hagrid's hut, with Ron and Hermione. **

"Ah, that's why...and how."

"**It was Snape," Ron was explaining, "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you." **

"**Rubbish," said Hagrid, who hadn't heard a word of what had gone on next to him in the stands. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?" **

"Cause of me", James pointed to himself.

"And me. Wherever I am" Sirius added.

"And me", Remus finished.

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another, wondering what to tell him. Harry decided on the truth. **

"Usually the best"

"**I found out something about him," he told Hagrid. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding." **

**Hagrid dropped the teapot. **

"Poor teapot", Fred sniffed.

"**How do you know about Fluffy?" he said. **

"**Fluffy?" **

"The three-headed dog is called Fluffy? Are you kidding me?" Tony exclaimed.

"**Yeah — he's mine — bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year**

"That's ironic", Tony snorted.

"How so?" Tonks wondered.

"In Greek Mythology, a three-headed dog guards the main entrance to the underworld", Teddy replied, "And Hagrid brought the three-headed dog from a Greek."

— **I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the —" **

"**Yes?" said Harry eagerly. **

"You should have let him talk", Natasha advised.

"**Now, don't ask me anymore," said Hagrid gruffly. "That's top secret, that is." **

"**But Snape's trying to steal it." **

"**Rubbish," said Hagrid again. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort." **

The Golden Trio and Ginny snorted.

Those who were suspecting Quirrell thought it referred to the teacher part of the sentence while the rest thought it was about Severus.

"**So why did he just try and kill Harry?" cried Hermione. **

**The afternoon's events certainly seemed to have changed her mind about Snape. **

"Yes, yes it seems so", Clint said pompously. Or as I call it, Percy-like.

"**I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!" **

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but that's also for counter curses", Remus commented.

James pointed at Severus. "You get the benefit of doubt."

"**I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" said Hagrid hotly. "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all three of yeh — yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel —" **

"So there's someone named Nicolas Flamel involved..." Betty said thinking hard.

"**Aha!" said Harry, "so there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?" **

**Hagrid looked furious with himself.**

"As he should!"

"That is the end of the Chapter who's gonna read next?"

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: (I used to make jokes based on thing we're currently doing in history here, but there's no way I'm gonna make a joke about the Third Reich and everything associated, so I'm doing Musics instead) If I own this, the first known melody was composed yesterday.<strong>

**Marvelgeek42**


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